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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Israel and Community, and the California Fires
by Rabbi Nathan Kamesar I’d like to share a reflection flowing out of a monthly course I’m teaching here at Society Hill Synagogue on Zionism: Understanding The Yearnings For A Jewish State. For the moment, I don’t want to get hung up on defining the
What exactly is a miracle?
by Rabbi Nathan Kamesar I’m writing to wish you all a healthy and happy Hanukkah season, this Festival of Lights, and to share with you some reflections that I offered this past Shabbat on the question: what is a nes — Hebrew for miracle? What
It’s Just Us
by Rabbi Nathan Kamesar We need your help. When I first applied to rabbinical school back in 2013, operating as I was from something of the periphery of the Jewish community, I did not imagine that, post-rabbinical school, I would be the rabbi of a
The Holiness in the Pang of Regret
by Rabbi Nathan Kamesar I am very excited that this week we are welcoming Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum to our community as Scholar-in-Residence. To me, she is a teacher, role model, and friend. Her arrival comes on the heels of her being named this week to
Rabbi Kleinbaum on Resilience; Exploring Memory in the Amidah
by Rabbi Nathan Kamesar First of all, I want to make sure you mark your calendars for the Shabbat of Friday evening, December 6 and Saturday morning, December 7, when a friend and teacher of mine, Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum, will be the Scholar-in-Residence
The Election and Our Shared Resilience
by Rabbi Nathan Kamesar As I’ve written about before, to be Jewish, to be in relationship to the Jewish people, entails a Jewish identity that is concerned not exclusively with traditionally “religious” considerations, but with the grand sweep of history, too: with the way in
Shabbat as Our Anchor and Honoring Our Community
by Rabbi Nathan Kamesar We’re in the middle of a trying week, with a highly consequential election nearly upon us, settling down from the rhythms of the Jewish holiday season back into the traditional rhythms of our year where, week in and week out, the
Sukkot, Voting, and the Call to Build a Better World Together
by Rabbi Nathan Kamesar We are amidst the joyous season of Sukkot — Sukkot is Zman Simhatenu (literally: the time of our joy), the season which immediately follows the Yamim Nora’im, the Days of Awe, or, alternatively, the Days of Intensity. Rosh Hashanah and Yom
God’s Humanity: Strengthening the Relationship
Yom Kippur 5785 by Rabbi Nathan Kamesar I want to share with you one of my favorite, and one of the most personally impactful, rabbinic teachings that I’ve ever encountered. An allusion is made to it in the final blessing of services today, and
Discerning the Call. And Following Through.
Kol Nidre 5785 by Rabbi Nathan Kamesar For me, becoming a rabbi was a calling. I can still remember a moment that I unequivocally felt the call. I was a college senior, out for a meal with my cousin who was a
The Jewish Story: Resounding Through the Shofar
Rosh Hashanah 5785 by Rabbi Nathan Kamesar This year has changed my relationship to what it means to be Jewish. Every year, during the High Holidays, I give a sermon, in one version or another, making the case for getting more deeply connected to Jewish
How to Pray, I Think
Erev Rosh Hashanah 5785 by Rabbi Nathan Kamesar I want to start my teaching this evening with one of the most well-worn stories of the Yamim Noraim, the Days of Awe, about a boy and his flute.¹ When Rabbi Israel was about to enter
Facing Life’s Big Questions this Rosh Hashanah
by Rabbi Nathan Kamesar I’m writing to share the D’var Torah, the words of Torah, I offered this past Friday night on the eve of celebrating a young person in our community, Arielle Schwartz, becoming Bat Mitzvah. It comes on the eve of
T’shuvah and the Margin for Error
by Rabbi Nathan Kamesar I’d like to share with you the D’var Torah I shared Friday night in advance of Abigail Hamilton’s beautiful Bat Mitzvah celebration this past Shabbat: There’s a phrase that’s been floating around in the public consciousness lately that has
One Thing I Ask
by Rabbi Nathan Kamesar This past week, as part of our celebrating our first Bat Mitzvah of the year (Mazal Tov, Madeleine Wilson!), I shared the following D’var Torah: In a few moments, we’re going to sing a verse of a psalm that