The Sermon on the Mount is a rich and textured teaching of Jesus that permeates the world, often without people even knowing where the wisdom originated. In this episode we come once again to the Sermon particularly the section about leaving anxieties of daily life behind and trusting that God knows what we need. We ask how to do that especially when we see suffering and poverty, hunger and despair. What does it mean that God will provide? These are difficult questions that we face in our struggle to understand God for us. Please join us.

In this seemingly simple yet complex parable Jesus teaches us to live side-by-side, wheat and weeds, good and evil, and to wait until the final judgement before we two are separated from each other. What does it mean for us to live our day-to-day lives in the struggle to be the "children of the kingdom" along side the "children of the evil one"? Please join us for this challenging conversation.

This is a powerful episode of Abraham imploring God to spare Sodom and Gomorrah, cities of sinfulness, for the sake of those who live a righteous life. In it we discuss God and the ability for us to ask that anger is quelled for the sake of others. In the Church we do this every Sunday when we offer the prayers of the faithful. In Judaism the prayer is that God move from justice to mercy. This is what we experience in this story of Abraham reaching out for the sake of others, leaving petition for his own family alone, and advocating for all who are righteous, even if only a few. Abraham was called by God out of a profoundly pagan world to be the one who will bless all the nations before God. Jesus calls each one of us to do the same.

The Lukan story of the Rich Ruler is also in Matthew and Mark as the story of the Rich young man. The three are similar in that wealth and power take precedent over God. Jesus offers a difficult teaching that we place God above all else, not only possessions but family and friends. It is in the first love of God that the kind of love we need so that every person is our family has its origin. Are we able to love in this way, to give up what we hold onto so dearly in this life to make a full offering of our selves to God? The rich ruler was saddened by this request. Are we?

Today we talk about hope. Our world is in great need of hope and in the telling of the story of God's love for us we know hope is still alive. Listen to this story about the 18th century Hasidic master, Baal Shem Tov, told below, and understand that hope remains as does the promise that God will be with us.

“It is told that in every generation there are times when hope threatens to leave this world. At such times, the Baal Shem Tov, the great Jewish mystic, would go into a secret place in the forest. There he would light a special fire and say a holy prayer speaking the long-forgotten most sacred name of God. The danger was averted and hope stayed alive.

In later times when disaster threatened, the Maggid of Mezrich, his disciple, would go to the same place in the forest and say, “Ribono Shel Olam, Master of the Universe, I do not know how to light the fire, but I can say the prayer.”

Still later, his disciple, Moshe Leib of Sasov, would go to the same place in the forest and say, “Ribono Shel Olam, Master of the Universe, I do not know how to light the fire or say the prayer, but I found my way to this place, and that must be enough.” And it was. Hope stayed alive.

And later when Israel of Rizhyn needed intervention from heaven, he sat in his chair with his head in his hands and said, “Ribono Shel Olam, Master of the Universe, I no longer know how to light the fire nor how to say the prayer, I can’t even find my way to that place, but I can tell the story and that must be enough.” And it was.

And it still is. As long as stories are told, hope stays in the world.”

Paul's letter about love is the foundation of our faith. Jesus taught that love of God and love of neighbor as ourselves are the two greatest commandments. With love we embrace God's gift of the commandments so that we might live good and happy lives. In this letter, Paul teaches us about the love that comes from God, the love that transcends our human inclination to hold onto pain and anger so that we will look at each other with kindness and understanding, just as Jesus did in his life and from the cross. Please join us for this beautiful conversation about love for each other that comes from the love of God.

The Paper Chicken: A Story of Renewal

(As retold by Rabbi Or Rose)

A young Hasid once visited his beloved master, Rabbi Elimelkh of Lizensk,

during the Ten Days of Repentance (Aseret Yemei Teshuval). The Hasid came to

his rebbe with a specific request:

"Great Master, as a devoted member of the holy community of Lizensk, I have

been blessed to witness you pray the three daily services, recite the blessing over

wine on Shabbat, and light the Hanukkah candles. In fact, I have been fortunate

enough to observe you perform many of God's sacred commands. Anong the few

mitzvoth I have not yet seen you perform is the ritual of Kapparol. Would it be

possible for me to do so this year?"

Reb Elimelekh replied, "While I am honored by your request, I must admit that

my performance of this particular command is rather ordinary. Like others, I take

a chicken in hand and swing it over my head. While doing so, I say the

appropriate words of absolution. When I conclude the ritual, I give the animal to

the hungry in our community for their final meal before Yom Kippur. If you want

to see someone perform the ritual of Kapparot in a special manner, go to Moshe

the innkeeper."

And so, on the night before Yom Kippur, the young Hasid made his way to

Moshe's inn, where he ate dinner and stayed the night. Early the next morning,

Moshe and his wife awoke early to perform the mitzvah of Kapparot; the young

Hasid looked on with great anticipation.

The ritual began with Moshe sitting in a wooden chair before the small fireplace in

his living room. After positioning himself comfortably in the chair, he asked his

wife to bring him the "Two books of repentance." Moshe's wife dutifully brought

her husband two tattered books from his study.

Moshe opened the first book, carefully read its contents, and began to weep. The

young Hasid listened intently as Moshe read a list of (rather minor) sins the

innkeeper had committed against God the previous year. After completing this

reading, Moshe took the book, swung it over his head, and threw it into the fire.

The innkeeper took a deep breath and then opened the second book and repeated

the ritual. This time, however, he read a somewhat longer list of sins that God had

committed against the Jewish people the previous year. After completing his

recitation, Moshe swung the book over his head and threw it into the fire.

The innkeeper was then ready for Yom Kippur.

Taanit 20a:16

The Sages further taught in praise of the reed: A person should always be soft like a reed, and he should not be stiff like a cedar. An incident occurred in which Rabbi Elazar, son of Rabbi Shimon, came from Migdal Gedor, from his rabbi’s house, and he was riding on a donkey and strolling on the bank of the river. And he was very happy, and his head was swollen with pride because he had studied much Torah.

He happened upon an exceedingly ugly person, who said to him: Greetings to you, my rabbi, but Rabbi Elazar did not return his greeting. Instead, Rabbi Elazar said to him: Worthless [reika] person, how ugly is that man. Are all the people of your city as ugly as you? The man said to him: I do not know, but you should go and say to the Craftsman Who made me: How ugly is the vessel you made. When Rabbi Elazar realized that he had sinned and insulted this man merely on account of his appearance, he descended from his donkey and prostrated himself before him, and he said to the man: I have sinned against you; forgive me. The man said to him: I will not forgive you go until you go to the Craftsman Who made me and say: How ugly is the vessel you made.

He walked behind the man, trying to appease him, until they reached Rabbi Elazar’s city. The people of his city came out to greet him, saying to him: Greetings to you, my rabbi, my rabbi, my master, my master. The man said to them: Who are you calling my rabbi, my rabbi? They said to him: To this man, who is walking behind you. He said to them: If this man is a rabbi, may there not be many like him among the Jewish people. They asked him: For what reason do you say this? He said to them: He did such and such to me. They said to him: Even so, forgive him, as he is a great Torah scholar.

He said to them: For your sakes I forgive him, provided that he accepts upon himself not to become accustomed to behave like this. Immediately, Rabbi Elazar, son of Rabbi Shimon, entered the study hall and taught: A person should always be soft like a reed and he should not be stiff like a cedar, as one who is proud like a cedar is likely to sin. And therefore, due to its gentle qualities, the reed merited that a quill is taken from it to write with it a Torah scroll, phylacteries, and mezuzot.

Today we do something different. In this podcast we talk about a story from the Talmud. It is about Rabbi Yochanan and Reish Lakish, two learned men of Torah. Rabbi Yochanan was a man of great learning whose beauty could heal. As a young man Reish Lakish was a bandit and one day when he tried to attack the Rabbi, Yochanan told him that his strength would be good to study Torah. Lakish threw himself into its study and became the greatest Torah scholar of his generation. They were havruta, two people who dialogue about Torah in order to bring out and clarify its meaning. One day the two offended each other and in harboring their anger it brought about their mutual demise. What do we learn from this tragic tale? For those who have ears to hear, listen. Jesus said leave your sacrifice at the altar and make peace with your brother and sister. Please join our havruta.

This curious passage sits between the scene where Moses tries to convince God that he is not the man for job and his joining together with Aaron to begin their journey to Egypt. The verses say that the Lord sought to kill him, so Moses's Midianite wife, Zipporah, circumcised their firstborn son and in this sign of the covenant he was spared. In our conversation we wonder about the language, the subjects, and the meaning of the "bridegroom of blood" that is born of this covenantal act, and what it might mean for us today. It is a strange passage that has confounded even the most learned of Rabbis and commentators. Join us as we offer thoughts and reflections that come through our relationship with God and one another.