Rituals and Writings
Life-cycles, Services, Sermons
Shabbat and Holidays
"More than the Jews keep Shabbat, Shabbat keeps the Jews"-Ahad Ha'am
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Modern shabbat and holiday observances have the ability to offer multiple ways to celebrate to include all peoples. As a Rabbi, I want to bring meaning into every Shabbat and holiday. Whether it's English or Hebrew, traditional liturgy or modern poetry, music or meditation, park or pew, or every combination therein, congregants should always be able to access the liturgy. Additionally, each of our entryways into our holiday observances is different and that ought to be recognized, too.
Some of us connect to the special holiday foods while others find entry by the special melodies. Some of us rejoice in seeing familiar faces every week and others twice a year, or somewhere in between. However one engages is the right way to engage.
Weddings and Other
Life-Cycles
Marking significant individual or family milestones by integrating ancient Jewish rituals in meaningful ways establishes community and allows us to celebrate together. Baby namings, conversions, retirement, starting college, and funerals, punctuate our lives. I believe it is important to create opportunities for engagement in Judaism, especially around life-cycle and life-affirming events. For example, we did a mikveh immersion at a waterfall that the person had been going to their whole life. That place in the woods was more profound than a traditional mikveh ever could have been.
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Weddings are a lovely blend of a public and intimate ritual, and they are incredibly individualistic. I happily officiate interfaith and intercultural marriages.
I have signed a ketubah which was simultaneously written in Hebrew, English, and Manadrin. On another occasion I blended elements from a methodist tradition with Jewish ones, explaining the symbolism of each along the way. And nothing says we have to confine ourselves to an existing sanctuary--we will create one by our presence and our rituals, whether in a vineyard or in the woods! Such as the time when I have accompanied an elopement couple a bit after dawn deep into the wilderness with only their parents.
Writings and Sermons
When I write a sermon, I start by reading the weekly Torah portion and consulting our ancient texts. With thousands of years of commentary, there are plenty of insights around. However, we must tie in our texts with the world in which we currently live, both inside our immediate community as well as in the broader community. I try to blend old texts with new insights, sometimes with stories or news or science. One way to get to know a rabbi is to hear her sermon and they are meant to be heard, rather than read.
Here are a few drashot:
1) Parshat T'ruma, Feb 2021; Dwell among them.
2) Jan 2021; Yes, And [drashing on the song "Imagine"]
3) Oct 2020; Sukkot and Shabbat
4) Yom Kippur, 2020, For whom are we responsible
5) Rosh Hashanah 2020, Time to Forgive
6) Nov 2021 Story "Curse of Blessings" [starts at 40:25min]
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Or read some articles:
1) D'var Acher on Parshat Bo, Mixed Multitude
2) Sinai and Synapses, Faith and Fake News
3) Sacred Service Learning, Community as Value
