Shabbat Sermon: Theology, Community & The Search For The Hiding God With Arnie Eisen, Former Chancellor Of The Jewish Theological Seminary From The Bimah: Jewish Lessons For Life podcast

11:52

This week, I was speaking with a member who has been struggling with an intense family situation and was heading into a tense and painful meeting. She was riding in a Lyft. The driver was playing Christian radio quietly in the front. A few minutes before they arrived at their destination, she heard something on the radio that piqued her interest. "Can you turn that up?" she asked. The hosts of the Christian radio show were discussing a verse from the book of Joshua where God says to Joshua, "I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you and I will not forsake you." Just then, the car stopped at her destination. She shared that as she was riding in the Lyft, she was feeling deeply afraid and alone. Hearing that verse gave her strength. As she put it, “how freaking amazing to get that message from Christian radio of all places in the exact moment I needed it….[and] of all the verses they could possibly be discussing, they are not only discussing verses from my part of the Bible as a Jew, but they are also discussing the exact verses that I need to put my faith in right now.” When she got out of the Lyft, she stood taller and stronger, fortified by the wisdom of Torah echoing through Christian radio. Now, let’s just pause for a moment. Think about this: What if our member had just been in that car, stressing about her meeting, messing around on her phone, tuning out the world? That would have been a totally reasonable response. In a stressful situation, it is so tempting to disconnect. It is so tempting to lose oneself in music, social media, reading and entertainment, or in chemical substances. But she was sitting in that car with her phone put away, looking out the window, listening to a random radio broadcast in her Lyft. Because her eyes and ears were open to possibility, that's how she received the wisdom she needed for that moment.…

From the Bimah: Jewish Lessons for Life

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Talmud Class: Do Today's Troubling Headlines Belong at Our Seder? 39:46

5 days ago39:46

39:46

Shall we invite the troubling headlines—from Israel, Gaza, America, our world—to our seders? Are our seders supposed to be a joyful way to avoid the world (family, friends, songs, children’s skits, plays, games, great food, lots of wine, tasty desserts), or an invitation to engage the world and think out loud together about how we can make it better? Are there any great options? Three options present themselves: Festival of worry. If everyone around the seder table agrees, and we talk about it, what ensues is a lot of worry, angst, negative energy, along with resolving to do our part to protest the troubling turn of events. Festival of acrimony. If people around the seder table do not agree, and we talk about it, what ensues is conflict, friction, acrimony. Who needs it? Festival of willed indifference. We do at the seder what we do most days, live our lives like it is not happening. Ignore the elephant. Talk about something else. But is that what we should be doing at a seder whose purpose is to inspire us to do our part to create a more just world? We do not have the answer for this question. But we are going to explore four lenses that can enable you to arrive at your own answer: • a halakhic lens • a poetic lens • an interpersonal relationship lens • a justice lens from the Haggadah Are we to celebrate the redemption that happened thousands of years ago, or to engage the redemption that needs to happen now? What do you think?…

From the Bimah: Jewish Lessons for Life

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Shabbat Sermon: Theology, Community & the Search for the Hiding God with Arnie Eisen, former Chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary 31:06

12 days ago31:06

31:06

In the Torah God tells us that from time to time God will hide God’s face. This would seem to be such a time. How do we find God in our troubled world together?

From the Bimah: Jewish Lessons for Life

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Shabbat Sermon: Counterworld with Rabbi Wes Gardenswartz 17:07

19 days ago17:07

17:07

A woman named Jessica Sklar, her husband and their two children were happily living their lives in Pacific Palisades when their house burned down. Since losing all their earthly possessions, they have been wandering in the wilderness. In less than two months, this family has moved five times, from A B & B X5. In the home they used to love, they had stability and serenity. In the wilderness they now inhabit, they have anxiety and uncertainty. A deep question lodges in their soul: We are not okay. Will we ever be okay again? In the face of this anxiety and uncertainty, one place has brought them deep comfort: the Pacific Palisades Youth Baseball League which, because the Palisades fields were destroyed by the fire, are in neighboring towns. A Times article recently reported: At last came the siren call: Play ball! The pomp and circumstance…provided a modicum of normalcy for families who in the previous 53 days have had to find new homes, schools, doctors, cars, clothes, places to worship and more—all while navigating the maze of insurance and government assistance and deciding what to do next. I cried seeing people, said Juliana Davis, who lost her home. I cried coming, said her friend Erin Chidsey, whose house also burned. Of the 450 boys and girls who had signed up to play before the fire, 305 are still playing. And parents and children are finding it a tonic to their souls. What do we do when we are in the wilderness? We have not lost our homes to the wildfire. Yet many of us feel that we are in a different kind of wilderness. I have a wonderful Sisterhood class on Tuesday mornings. More than 30 people show up every Tuesday. We have been talking about our world through the prism of Jewish texts. What I hear from these students is deep anxiety. I have deep anxiety about our world. We are not okay. Will we ever be okay again? What will be with Israel? I have always loved Israel. But I am just confused. And worried. How does this end? What will be with our country? My students will say to me: I know you can’t talk about politics, and we respect that. But what is happening with our checks and balances? Will we be leaving a democracy to our future generations? Edge. Anxiety. Concern for our future. Not feeling deeply anchored. And wondering: what can I do to create the world I want to live in and leave to my loved ones? That is the Torah’s question now. How do we create a counterworld to the wilderness?…

From the Bimah: Jewish Lessons for Life

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Talmud Class: Mahmoud Khalil and the Documentary Hypothesis 37:44

19 days ago37:44

37:44

How are we to understand the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil and the stated intent of the federal government to deport him? It is good. He is an Israel hater. Finally the federal government is cracking down on Israel hate and Jew hate that have been running rampant on college campuses, leading to the intimidation and harassment of Jewish students and supporters of Israel. Columbia has been the capital of Jew hate and Israel hate. It is about time. It is bad. It changes the fundamental character of our country if somebody can be arrested and possibly deported for expressing opinions, however distasteful they may be to some. Deporting somebody for the exercise of free speech means we are in scary times in a scary country. Though some in the pro-Israel community may cheer this development, how can we be sure that we are not next? See Pastor Marin Niemoller’s iconic words about Nazi Germany: First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me. It is good. The intimidation and harassment of Jewish students have gone on too long. Our children who go to Columbia walk past signs, posters, and placards that say: “Jews go back to Europe.” How can we not see and combat that kind of hatred, which is real, throbbing, urgent, and getting worse? The arrest of Mahmoud Khalil will deter ugly hate directed against Jews and against Israel that has gone on for too long. Thank you, President Trump. It is bad. The administration is weaponizing antisemitism to try to achieve its immigration objectives. It does not actually care about antisemitism. And it is going to come back to haunt the Jewish and pro-Israel community by deepening divisions and hatred. Deepening hatred? How could it be worse than it is today, signs in New York City telling Jewish students and professors: “Jews go back to Europe.” The thing we fear may happen next is here. Now. On and on. How do we process such a complicated conundrum and negative energy sink hole? Tomorrow I want to offer an unexpected lens: the documentary hypothesis . Unlike our headlines, the documentary hypothesis is dry, a little boring, and safe to talk about in public. It will offend nobody. Also, and most importantly: At its heart is an insight that, whatever your view on the painful headlines, we all need to hear.…

From the Bimah: Jewish Lessons for Life

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Brotherhood Shabbat Sermon with Yad Chessed Founder Bob Housman 16:25

5 weeks ago16:25

16:25

Robert Housman established Yad Chessed so he could help his neighbors struggling in Boston’s Jewish community. In the early years, he ran it by himself, with help from his wife Sue, as he worked full-time as a computer programmer. He directed Yad Chessed until the summer of 2012 when he became a member of its Board of Directors.…

From the Bimah: Jewish Lessons for Life

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Talmud Class: Do We Own It, and if So, What Do We Do About It? 41:16

5 weeks ago41:16

41:16

On Yom Kippur, October 9, 1943, in the middle of the Holocaust, Rabbi Walter Wurzburger gave a sermon at Congregation Chai Odom in Brighton, Massachusetts entitled “ The Individual in the Crisis .” He argued that Jews in Greater Boston own moral responsibility for the Holocaust. On the basis of the High Priest’s avodah service, Rabbi Wurzburger offered this stark challenge: We behold a world of agony, misery, cruelty, injustice, brutality, and tyranny. We are responsible for it. It is our world. No complaints! No excuses! No defense mechanisms! No passing of the buck. (quoting the High Priest) “I and my family, we sinned, we failed, we are guilty, we are responsible.” If this be our lens, we cannot just lament and decry the pain of our world. We own the pain. We own the moral responsibility for doing something to fix it. That feels like a tall order. What can we do, here or in Israel? Maybe we should just focus on our dalet amot, the four cubits of our own existence. We cannot control what goes on in Washington or in Israel or in Gaza. We can have more control over what goes on in our homes, workplaces and communities. So consider this lens . When Moses announces the decisive tenth plague, he says it will happen at about midnight. The Talmud jumps on the word about. Why wasn’t Moses more precise? The Talmud’s answer: The Torah says about midnight to teach us to say: “I don’t know.” Is “I don’t know” a valid Jewish response to the pain of the world? I did not cause it. I cannot fix it. I don’t know. The first lens came from a class this past summer at Hartman taught by Elana Stein Hain. The second lens came from a class taught by Yehuda Kurtzer. Are we living the second lens? If so, is that okay?…

From the Bimah: Jewish Lessons for Life

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Shabbat Sermon: Sing Your Song with Rav Hazzan Aliza Berger 16:16

6 weeks ago16:16

16:16

In 1992, then 25-year-old Sinéad O'Connor appeared on Saturday Night Live. She was a budding international musical superstar with two chart-topping records to her name. And, unbeknownst to producers, she had decided to use her platform to protest rampant child abuse in the Catholic Church. At the end of her performance, she stared straight into the camera, tore up a picture of Pope John Paul II and threw it at the camera as she shouted, “fight the real enemy.” Now remember, 1992 was almost a decade before the sexual abuse scandals in the Catholic Church would come to light in this country. Not only were most Americans unaware of the evils that had unfolded behind closed doors, but they were also outraged that a pop star would dare to dishonor and defame a venerated religious leader. Sinéad was immediately and very publicly scorned, mocked, and ridiculed. Two weeks later, she was scheduled to perform at a special Madison Square Garden concert. Country music star Kris Kristofferson introduced her by saying, “I’m real proud to introduce this next artist, whose name’s become synonymous with courage and integrity, Sinéad O'Connor.” As soon as he says her name, the crowd begins to boo and jeer at her. Sinéad walks on stage and stands in the face of that hate for what seems like forever. She adjusts her mic, tries saying “thank you” the way she would begin any other performance, but the crowd just keeps screaming at her. The band tries to save her by starting her song, but she cuts them off. 20,000 people in the audience are still booing. Jeering. The hate doesn’t end. She stares out, waiting. Kris returns. He leans in and whispers something in her ear, then walks away. Again, the band tries to temper the vitriol of the crowd with instrumentals to no avail. Finally, Sinéad says, “turn this up,” and then begins to sing/scream the same song she sang on Saturday Night Live. She gets out every word. The crowd is still booing. She finishes, turns and begins to walk off the stage. Kris meets her, hugs her, and the two exit together. As a performer, I cannot imagine the grit it took to stand strong in front of 20,000 angry, booing audience members; not only to stand strong but to have the presence of mind to be able to pause and reflect about what she wanted to do, how she wanted to proceed, to decide to sing the very same song that earned her all of this vitriol. Later she would share that she herself was the victim of abuse growing up. That the picture she shredded belonged to her abusive mother. That she wasn’t just taking a stand for victims in general, but for herself and for every child that had ever been abused. That she believed that she was more than a pretty voice and had an obligation to stand for justice. Fundamentally she was right. A decade later, the country would be roiled by revelations of abuse, cover ups, and the church would begin paying out settlements. But she was a ahead of her time. That courageous stand ended her career. This story made the rounds in September of 2024, when Kris Kristofferson passed away, because this moment of support kindled a beautiful friendship that would last for the next thirty-one years. But it resurfaced in my memory this week for a very different reason.…

From the Bimah: Jewish Lessons for Life

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Talmud Class: Joy and Sorry in Megillat Esther - Is There Room for Both? 48:56

6 weeks ago48:56

48:56

Often music reflects the mood of the time we are in. That is the case with Megillat Esther – but in a surprising way. While we are chanting in a joyous musical mode, reflected in the trope of Purim, we suddenly hear two mournful tunes at several points during the Megillah reading. There are six verses that we sing to this mournful trope, the trope for Eicha, the book of Lamentations, which we read on Tisha B’Av. What does Purim, our happiest holiday, have to do with Tisha B’Av, our saddest? Join us on Shabbat morning as we examine different times during the Jewish year where there is a juxtaposition between joy and sorrow. How do we hold both at the same time?…

From the Bimah: Jewish Lessons for Life

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Shabbat Sermon: Meeting our Moment 16:34

7 weeks ago16:34

16:34

Has this ever happened to you? One frigid morning, I grab my warmest jacket. I reach down to zip the zipper and it won’t budge. I pull. I push. I take it apart. I put it back. I pull again. I’m late. I’m from California – I need this coat to zip. Now there are probably more rational things to have done, but I do not do them. I pull with all my strength – words that I make it a practice not to say bubbling up in my mind – until I have whipped myself into a quiet frenzy. The coat is broken. The world is broken. It’s all too much. From broken zipper to broken world in 60 seconds flat. As the feeling moved from my kishkes to my head and calm descended, I thought of the many members who have shared how close to the surface that feeling of overwhelm is for so many right now in this moment of shifting ground. Our assumptions of what is usual or expected, in everything from the political to the tech to the economic to the global – whether you think those changes are good or not good – have been so rapidly changing that one could be forgiven for experiencing some whiplash. How do we meet this moment?…

From the Bimah: Jewish Lessons for Life

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Talmud Class: If Only 42:11

7 weeks ago42:11

42:11

I was out having a coffee last week with a friend. In our musings about the vagaries of life, the phrase, “If only” come up in conversation. How would our lives be different “if only?” Would they be better? Worse? If only we had done this and not that, or NOT done this or that? Our micro and macro decisions effect not only the trajectory of our lives, but the lives our family, friends, community and perhaps beyond. How different would our world be if for example Drew Bledsoe had not been injured? If the Challenger had not exploded? If Noah had argued with God? If Pharoh had decided to kill the girls? When and how does “If only” become, “If not now, when?” As always, Torah has a way of framing and addressing these philosophical questions. Looking forward to exploring with you on Shabbat morning “if, only” through the lens of society , Biblical text , and personal reflection.…

From the Bimah: Jewish Lessons for Life

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Shabbat Sermon: Argentinian Jewish Music and the Forgotten Figure of the Temple Days - Asaph with Cantor Elias Rosemberg 16:46

8 weeks ago16:46

16:46

February 8, 2025

From the Bimah: Jewish Lessons for Life

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Talmud Class: Simultaneous Song 48:15

8 weeks ago48:15

48:15

What is the greatest miracle in Jewish history? Many would answer it is the one we read about this Shabbat – the splitting of the sea. Rarely, though, do we stop to notice another, perhaps equally astounding, miracle that happened when our ancestors reached the shore – they all broke out into song together. How did this happen? What did it look like? Why should we care? The vision of simultaneous song endures as an example of striking unity among our people. It is also fleeting. Today, division runs deep and unity remains fleeting. Does this song, or the other song from which Shabbat Shira gets its name, the song of Devorah, give us any insight helpful to our modern experience which is characterized by anything but simultaneous song? Join us tomorrow morning as we unpack what the Torah is trying to tell us about the possibility or impossibility of lasting unity (source sheet here ).…

From the Bimah: Jewish Lessons for Life

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Shabbat Sermon: Braids with Rabbi Michelle Robinson 14:21

9 weeks ago14:21

14:21

February 1, 2025

From the Bimah: Jewish Lessons for Life

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Talmud Class: How Quickly We Forget 44:07

9 weeks ago44:07