Voices of Adas

What does it mean to live a life of faith? In this midweek reflection on Parashat Toldot, Rabbi Aaron Alexander explores Rashi and Ramban’s interpretations of Abraham’s relationship with God.

Why can good news leave us as anxious as bad news? Drawing on Eliezer’s encounter with Rebecca, this Shabbat sermon explores the habit of overlooking blessings while bracing for disappointment. It invites us to recognize goodness and answered prayers without ignoring the world’s real difficulties.

What does it mean to take responsibility for a world in need of repair? This Shabbat sermon contrasts Noah’s obedience with Abraham’s willingness to question, argue for justice, and act. It invites us to use our moral compass and become active partners in bringing holiness and goodness into the world.

What kind of society does the Torah ask us to build? Drawing on the biblical and rabbinic portraits of Sodom and Egypt, Rabbi Alexander’s Shabbat sermon contrasts systems of cruelty and exploitation with a community rooted in justice and the inherent worth of every person. He calls us to keep human dignity at the center of our shared life.

Who gets to belong—and do we have to earn our place? Beginning with a question about Noah’s ark and turning to the Talmud’s story of Rabban Gamliel, Rabbi Sarah Krinsky’s Shabbat sermon explores the barriers we place around Jewish learning and community. It offers an invitation to bring our imperfect selves, pull up a seat, and learn.

What does it mean that God blessed the seventh day? Drawing on Genesis and Jewish commentary, this sermon explores Shabbat as a housewarming celebration—a weekly invitation to turn chaos into a welcoming home and make room for guests, possibility, and God.

Rabbi Alexander reflects on mortality, friendship, and the extraordinary improbability of being alive. Through personal loss and Jewish reflection, he invites us to loosen our grip on time and celebrate the precious life and relationships before us.

Rabbi Holtzblatt examines regret as an essential part of teshuvah, the work of return and repair. Drawing on confession, the story of Joseph and his brothers, and her own family, she invites us to see the pain we have caused and choose differently while there is still time.

In this Rosh Hashanah sermon for 5787, Rabbi Aaron Alexander reflects on Jewish identity, belonging, and the relationship between American Jews and Israel. Ivri Anokhi—I am a Jew—becomes an affirmation of a full, complex identity and the right to feel at home without concealing or simplifying who we are.

On the first day of Rosh Hashanah 5787, Rabbi Holtzblatt explores the relationship between love for the Jewish people and responsibility toward all humanity. Through the Torah’s creation stories and the idea that every person bears the divine image, she asks how our closest bonds can deepen our compassion beyond our own community.