I’m thrilled you are exploring Society Hill Synagogue and have found your way to the page of Divrei Torah, words of Torah, which are part of a generations-long Jewish practice of refracting sacred Jewish teachings through the light of our own day and age.
For me, Judaism is an opportunity to nourish ourselves, grounded in the Jewish story: a story that has unfolded throughout the generations, with twists and turns, tragedy and triumph, serving as a source of life to those who engage with it.
The Jewish People are known as B’nei Yisrael: the people who wrestle with the Divine. The name comes from that moment in our tradition in which it is understood that our ancestor Jacob “wrestled with a figure,” a figure understood to be a manifestation of that very Divine Being (see Genesis 32).
That moment produced a legacy of sacred wrestling; grappling; seeking to make meaning of, and find purpose in, our time on earth.
These Divrei Torah are my efforts, in conversation with the community of Society Hill Synagogue, to make meaning and to find purpose, seeking to serve this community, our broader world, and the Divine.
I hope you find meaning in them yourself, and I encourage you to reach out to me if you would like to discuss their contents or to discuss becoming a part of the Society Hill Synagogue community. Welcome!
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Finding Wholeness in Brokenness
By Rabbi Nathan Kamesar This past week during Shabbat services (10 am prayer and song; 10:45 Torah study, every week at this link) we studied Parashat Mishpatim, the Torah portion known as Mishpatim which means rules or enactments—a fitting title because this is the point in our Torah where the
What Happened at Sinai and How It Impacts Us
By Rabbi Nathan Kamesar This past week on Shabbat we encountered that sacred moment in our Torah when the Israelites find themselves at the base of Mt. Sinai, about to enter the eternal covenant with the Source of All Existence. Every imaginable sensation takes place
What Crossing the Sea Really Means
By Rabbi Nathan Kamesar This past Shabbat we reviewed the parashah (Torah portion) featuring that ever-climactic moment in our sacred history: the crossing of the sea in culmination of our exodus from Egypt. And I say “our” very deliberately here. The crossing of the sea happened not
Tu BiShvat—the New Year for Trees—is Here!
By Rabbi Nathan Kamesar Tu BiShvat higia; hag ha’ilanot! These popular song lyrics translate to, “Tu BiShvat is here! The festival of trees!” Festival of trees? What could this even mean? Well, it derives from the mishnah, that Jewish sacred text that served, in a sense, as the
Inauguration Day: Teachings from Our Sages
By Rabbi Nathan Kamesar I write this weekly d’var torah message on an historic day. For the 46th time in our nation’s nearly 245-year history, we have inaugurated a new leader of our republic, one duly elected by our citizens through millions of sacred acts of democracy. Many
Leadership Transitions in Our Sacred Texts
By Rabbi Nathan Kamesar What a time to be revisiting our Torah discussion from this past Shabbat, as we do each week. And yet in some ways I think turning to the eternal rhythms of our weekly torah portion, that anchor in our week that
Wrestling with… the Messiah?
By Rabbi Nathan Kamesar Happy 2021! May it be a year that lifts our spirits and brings us together. We are returning, after a brief hiatus, to our weekly emailed Divrei Torah (words of Torah) derived from the conversations we hold each week during our Shabbat morning
The Past Hurts
By Rabbi Nathan Kamesar This past Shabbat we studied that ever-troublesome parashah (Torah portion) called Toldot that includes the moment when our ancestor Rebecca overhears that her ailing husband Isaac is preparing to give his final, all-important blessing to the barely-older twin Esau rather than her beloved barely-younger twin
In Kindness We Trust
By Rabbi Nathan Kamesar This past Shabbat we studied the weekly portion called Hayyei Sarah, meaning “the Life of Sarah,” which begins, notably, with the passing of that foremost matriarch. After her death we encounter a series of episodes in the lives of our ancestors, including
Dealing with Uncertainty
By Rabbi Nathan Kamesar This past Shabbat we read that perhaps most famous of all parshiyot (Torah portions): vayera. Vayera means “and he appeared,” referring to the divine presence appearing before our foremost ancestor Abraham, communicating to him and his wife Sarah that they would indeed have a son, their
Our Democracy
By Rabbi Nathan Kamesar I have always loved Election Day. The ideal of having an engaged citizenry collectively come together—millions of us, across the states—recognizing that our well-being is wrapped up in one another’s; that our lives are, for better or for worse, in one
Joy and Sorrow in Our Communities
By Rabbi Nathan Kamesar This past week we celebrated our first Bat Mitzvah since the start of the pandemic with a beautiful service led by our Bat Mitzvah, Emma Salzman. Her Torah portion was Noah, perhaps one of the most well-known narratives in the history
The Strangest Book in the Bible
By Rabbi Nathan Kamesar This past week at our weekly Torah study together in the midst of our Shabbat services, we studied the book of Ecclesiastes. (Yes, Ecclesiastes, or, Kohelet, its Hebrew name, is indeed in the Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible. It is located in the third
Sukkot: A Reflection on Our Transience and Impermanence
By Rabbi Nathan Kamesar With the High Holidays behind us, we are going to return to our minhag (custom) of sending out weekly summaries of our Shabbat morning Torah conversations. As a reminder, each week during our Shabbat morning service, we engage with a text from our
Kehillah Kedoshah: Sacred Community
Yom Kippur Sermon 5781 By Rabbi Nathan Kamesar Al shlosha d’varim ha’olam omed. On three things the universe stands. Al ha’torah, va’al ha’avoda, v’al gemilut chasadim. On Torah; on Avodah, worship or service, and on gemilut chasadim, acts of lovingkindness. So says pirkei avot, the