Last weekend, Rabbi Angela Buchdahl of New York’s Central Synagogue said the following in an interview: “We know what kind of city we want to live in. One in which people of all faiths, classes and colors feel belonging. For Jewish New Yorkers, it has to include both safety and security on a physical level, and knowing we will not be demonized, marginalized or harassed for supporting a Jewish homeland....”

"There are forces that want to bathe our joy in inescapable grief, as we learned on Tisha B’Av. But there are other forces, better forces, Godly forces, that can be an antidote to the disease of hate."

"America, like Jewish tradition, is not only about the human being, but the human becoming. What we are is an invitation to who we might be. There are legal systems, political systems, social stratifications in the world which insist large segments of their societies are trapped in their station, defined inexorably by their race or gender or caste. This, I believe, is not what America stands for. “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” Not only being but becoming, pursuing."

"...the irreducible holy is iterative. Our tradition may say we must only go up, but there are forces pulling us down; they are strong and they are determined. To live a “consecrated, dedicated life,” to achieve an aspirational society, requires stamina, patience, and a belief in a higher purpose for this complicated world."

At first blush, Tazria-Metzora is about illness. It includes a detailed description of this enigmatic disease called tzara’at. similar to, but not the same, as leprosy. But the Rabbis suggest the whole detailed description of tzara’at is not about only about disease but discourse, malicious speech.

This year as we come out of Egypt, let’s also consider Torah's invitation to come up from Egypt. And in this symbolic aliyah, consider how we might stand tall.

SHABBAT SERMON: "I’m a sucker for a happy ending. I once convinced my family to watch Shawshank Redemption arguing it was a “feel-good movie.” It’s now a running joke in our family, because Shawshank isn’t really a feel-good movie. It’s a lot of pain, tension, and suffering – with moments of humor and grace. But it has a happy ending – kind of the ultimate happy ending. And that’s what I remembered most...."

This is my Shabbat sermon from Parashat Vayishlach delivered Dec. 6, 2025 (16 Kislev 5786).

What we might do when faced with the erosion of basic democratic norms and civil legal protections, when minority populations are subject to leaders or citizens from the majority making blanket claims about their own insecurity while asserting blanket condemnations of entire populations? What are some non-violent tools available to us to push back against the scapegoating of migrants, of racist and xenophobic rhetoric condemning the cultures of entire countries and their millions upon millions of inhabitants and expatriates?

My Shabbat SERMON from Parashat Vayera at Beth Am Synagogue on Nov. 8, 2025. It's one thing to decide how much of ourselves to reveal to others. But how often do we assume we know exactly who others are and what they might become?