Questioning Our Way to Freedom

As a kid, I asked a lot of questions. I would follow my mother around saying: “What’s that? How does this work? Why do we do this? When did you do that?” I’ve been told that I had an adorable blend of inquisitiveness and pestering.

It will come as no surprise, then, that Passover is my favorite holiday. The Four Questions are an iconic moment in the seder. I am an oldest child and the eldest of my cousins, so it was never my job to ask, but I would still spend the night peppering my family seder with other requests for explanations and information.

Shabbat HaGadol: Ekhad Ani Yodea!

I come from a family of talkers. We talk loud, and we talk fast. Somehow, we manage to understand each other. But, the / effort / to / pace / our / speech/ to / speak / in / public for humans, who speak and listen at non-Fenster speeds, is a regular family goal.

That being said, when the songs at the end of the seder come around, all bets are off. A lightning fast Chad Gadya is a badge of honor, and Ekhad Mi Yodea, who knows one?, a year’s worth of bragging rights.

So, as I have been loosening my tongue and stretching out my jaw for a yearly speed-singing battle with my brother,I took another look at my favorite song: Ekhad Mi Yodea, who knows one.

Shabbat Parah: It's Time to Get Ready

Well, Passover is just around the corner, so it’s time to head to the store to pick up your brisket, 5-pound box of matza, some macaroons, those jelly rings that uncle Chayyim likes. Oh! And did you get some Parah Adumah?

What’s a Parah Adumah? Parah Adumah is Hebrew for: Red Heifer.

And this week is Shabbat Parah, the Shabbat of the Red Heifer. One in a cycle of pre-Passover Shabbatot to help us get ready for the holiday.

Brokenness at the Core

We have had a busy few weeks. Two weeks ago, we found ourselves at the base of a mountain. Thunder, lightning, shofar blasts, smoke, and a voice that reverberated in each of our hearts. Moses imparted to us the 10 commandments, the word of God. Then, last week, we got more details. Holidays, foundational laws for structuring our community and instructions for living in fellowship and relationship with our neighbors We have had a busy few weeks.

And now, we get into what can seem like biblical technobabble. The instructions shift from “you shall not wrong or oppress a stranger” A moral enjoinder that easily speaks to our time. To “you shall make the planks for the tabernacle of acacia wood…each plank shall be 10 cubits and the width of each plank shall be a cubit and half” Intricate details for the design of the tabernacle, The movable dwelling place for God During the Israelites’ desert wandering. We move from the quality of our character To the quality of the wood, gold, silver, and bronze that we use to create and adorn this holy space in the Israelite camp. I, at least, need a moment when I reach parashat Terumah. I need a moment to recalibrate To move from the easier to access moral code of last week’s parashat Mishpatim. To find the core truths and values in parashat Terumah.

And, it is precisely the core of the Tabernacle where, I want to look with you today.

Are Our Stories Enough? Yes, And! (MLK Day)

Last Sunday, curled up on the couch, eating Ben & Jerry’s frozen yogurt, watching the Golden Globes, I had a mini-existential crisis.

It all started off fine. There were great stories and moving speeches. And, as always, those actors and directors who gave a glimpse into their story and their truth gave me chills and warmed my heart.

Morning Blessing Experiment

For my week of leading services at HUC, I wanted to do a little experiment...Here is the introductory iyyun and the handout from the service.:

There’s this commercial for Febreeze that I haven’t been able to shake. Here’s the scene: a teenage boy in his room, thinks everything is just fine. Mom walks in and the screen shifts to what she smells: a dirty, unlaundered locker room. Febreeze warns us against “nose blindness” those things we think are fine just because we have become accustomed to them. But, when we stop to really take a nice long whiff, we realize that something is very very wrong.

Parshat Noach: Confounded Language

Today, I have no solutions. I have no new, novel ideas to solve the crisis and stop the violence. And, frankly, even if I did, I’m not sure I would be able to articulate it in a way that people could understand. I would be speaking in my own language, just as your solution would have its own language as well. But, despite our confuddled language, I hope that there is still space for us to talk.

For some of you, this might sound familiar. You could consider this my "take 2" at an Israel sermon after speaking on the subject back on the evening of Rosh Hashanah. I thought about just saying that one again. Who knows how many of you actually stayed awake through the whole thing. But, it has been suggested to me that that would not be a great idea. On Rosh Hashanah, I spoke about the importance of presence and hope as we create space for Israel conversations. Today, I hope to follow up on that message.