Rabbi Bellows gives sermons almost every Erev Shabbat (Friday evening) usually based on that week's Torah portion or with reference to an upcoming holiday. The purpose of a sermon is to use ancient teachings from our tradition to bring spiritual meaning to our lives and to inspire us to act to make our world more whole and just.
Sammy Cohen-Eckstein was due to celebrate his Bar Mitzvah on November 16th. But last week, when he ran out into the street to retrieve a soccer ball in front of his apartment building on Prospect Park West, he was suddenly hit by a van and died. My dear colleague and friend Rabbi Ellen Lippman, is… Continue Reading
It’s August 21st and the Ronald E. McNair Discovery Learning Academy in Decatur, Georgia is on lockdown[1]. Police surround the school, and an armed man has made it into the front office. He is filling multiple ammunition clips and loading his guns. In the meantime, Antoinette Tuff, a clerk seated at the front desk, talks… Continue Reading
My colleague, Rabbi Nancy Flam[1], has worked for many years in the field of Jewish pastoral care, illness, healing, and spirituality. In her work, as in mine, she spends time with Jewish people who are facing illness and death, and she tries to help them find meaning – to even find God – in their… Continue Reading
I want to begin this morning with the story of a very courageous 11-year–old.[1] This year, Tennessee state lawmakers attempted to pass a measure, called the “Classroom Protection Act.” This bill expanded on a failed bill that came to be known as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which would have banned elementary and middle-school teachers… Continue Reading
Twenty years ago, my teacher Rabbi Margaret Wenig wrote the following in a High Holy day sermon: Imagine now that God is a woman, and she is growing older. . . . She moves more slowly now. She cannot stand erect. Her hair is thinning. Her face is lined. . . . Sometimes she has… Continue Reading
I’ll begin with a quote from this week’s Haftorah, Isaiah Chapter 61 verse 10 through Chapter 63 verse 9. “Nevermore shall you be called ‘Forsaken,’ Nor shall your land be called ‘Desolate’.” Rejoicing and an expression of gratitude towards G-d for victory over our enemies as well as a recognition of the costs of trampling… Continue Reading
Approximately six years ago next month, I was teaching in Winslow Auditorium at the Yale School of Public Health. It was the second day of my class on the Social and Behavioral Foundations of Health, and we were discussing the impact of race and social class on health. There were nearly 120 students present –… Continue Reading
This week my cousin Erica, who has kids around the same age as ours, shared a great story on Facebook about her older daughter Anna. A couple weeks ago, eight-year-old Anna was getting organized for Day Camp at their JCC in Newton. She learned that all of the different camp units or age-groups were named… Continue Reading
On Wednesday night I had the pleasure of being a part of an event benefiting T’ruah: the Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, and organization whose Board I have been co-chairing for the past two years. We work on human rights issues in North America including the issue of human trafficking and modern day slavery in… Continue Reading
Emor 2013 – The fine line between sanctity and desecration, blessing and curse Rabbi Rachel Goldenberg “livracha v’lo liklalah, l’sova, v’lo l’razon, l’chayyim v’lo l’mavet… for blessing, and not for curse; for sustenance, and not for destruction; for life, and not for death.” My family and I were in Boston to see the Marathon two… Continue Reading
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