To appreciate creation, we should appreciate creatures. (NOTE: Podcast version of the words below is available at the bottom of…
Tag: Midrash
Offering Worship: Did Moses Make It All Up?
Offering as a form of worship. Take a look at Leviticus. God offers some weird instructions for worship! Like a precise…
Mixed Feelings
A sermon presented at Canadian Memorial United Church, February 12, 2017, in video, with text version following. Song of the Sea,…
Where did that sermon come from, Rabbi?
Saturday January 1, 2005: My first day of work as a congregational rabbi. “You can lead part of the service,”…
A Christmas Midrash
Christmas season is in full swing. Decorations are everywhere. Sometimes people ask if their ubiquity bothers my Jewish sensibilities. Not at…
Kabbalah by the Numbers
On the fourth day of Hanukkah, I accompanied a prison chaplain as she offered holiday programs at two medium-security institutions. Numbers matter…
Return of the Eagle
News seems to be bad everywhere. Copenhagen, Egypt, France, the West Bank, North Carolina, even Canada. Each day, the voice…
The Condiments Mitzvah
Each year, before Passover, I take a critical look at my refrigerator. Especially at the shelf on the inside of…
Hearing the Angel's Voice
Sarah is upset. She wants Hagar and Hagar’s son Yishmael out of the household. Avraham resists, upset on behalf of…