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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Ever-Relevant Modes of Interpretation
By Rabbi Nathan Kamesar One of the highlights of my summer—besides discovering my four-year-old daughter Lila’s obsession with being in the pool for hours on end; or my seventeen-month-old-Nina’s increasingly adorable pronunciation of Aba (dad, in Hebrew); or the few extra hours here and there that I’ve
Judaism Says: You Are Capable Of More Than You Know
By Rabbi Nathan Kamesar Each and every week this summer I’ve been experiencing such richness as part of our Shabbat (Saturday) morning Torah discussions. Our services start at 9:45 am, and then by 10:30, after about 45 minutes of opening prayers, reflections, and songs, we
How Exile Shows Up In Our Lives
By Rabbi Nathan Kamesar Starting Wednesday night and continuing through Thursday, we honor Tishah B’Av, the ninth day of the Jewish month of Av, the date which commemorates numerous tragedies over the course of Jewish history, including and especially the destruction of the Beit Hamikdash, the Temple in Jerusalem,
The Special Time of Jewish Weddings, Tragedy in Philly, and Turmoil in Israel
By Rabbi Nathan Kamesar Dear Friends, I just got back from a brief vacation in Portland, Oregon where Caroline and I attended my sister’s wedding, which I was honored to officiate. Jewish (and presumably all) weddings are aimed at capturing an experience that can seemingly
Belief in Our Capacities | A Tale of Two Ships
By Rabbi Nathan Kamesar This past week at Shabbat services (9:45 am – 12 noon followed each week by lunch with the community) we discussed the notorious incident of the twelve scouts. As the Israelites are approaching the land of their ancestors, God instructs them
A Year In Review, And The Year To Come
By Rabbi Nathan Kamesar Dear Friends, We’ve reached, in many ways, our summer season, featuring a different pace. We catch our breaths a bit from the year that has been, while also taking advantage of this slower pace to lay the groundwork for the year
What Our Own Prayers Can Say
By Rabbi Nathan Kamesar Last week we talked about the Amidah, and we talked about the Amidah because it is in some ways the perfect encapsulation of the tension between two instincts when it comes to prayer in Jewish tradition—one instinct in prayer is the
Tribute to Rabbi Avi, my Mentor and Friend
By Rabbi Nathan Kamesar I’ve been waiting a long time for this opportunity—the opportunity to pay tribute to a cherished mentor and a dear friend, Rabbi Avi Winokur. The annals of synagogue histories are replete with stories of contentiousness between Senior Rabbis and Rabbis Emeritus.
What the Shabbat Prayers May Be Saying
By Rabbi Nathan Kamesar Many of you have heard me say it a million times by now. “Now is the time of the silent offering of the amidah, the offering of the heart. You’re invited to offer up whatever prayers you have using the
A Bar Mitzvah Student Grapples with the Scapegoat • (Im)purity: Alienation vs Integration
By Rabbi Nathan Kamesar Dear Friends, This Shabbat, we celebrated the Bar Mitzvah for Elias Zaring. Elias’s parashah, as will be discussed below, was the double portion of achareit-mot/kedoshim, two portions in the midst of the book of Leviticus that include the portion that is read
Yom Hazikaron | Israel at 75 | Yom Hashoah
By Rabbi Nathan Kamesar Yom Hazikaron – Memorial Day This evening, Yom Hazikaron, Israel’s Memorial Day, (whose full official name is Yom Hazikaron Lehalelei Ma’arkhot Yisrael Ul’nifge’ei Pe’ulot Haeivah/Memorial Day for the Fallen Soldiers of the Wars of Israel and Victims of Actions of Terrorism)
The Omer: counting the in-between moments
By Rabbi Nathan Kamesar Dear Friends, Here are the remarks I delivered this past Friday at services on a special Jewish ritual at this time of year: *** A ritual that we’re called upon to engage with at this time of year—a mitzvah, a sacred act
A Dayenu Moment in Tennessee, Violence in Israel
By Rabbi Nathan Kamesar Dear Friends, I write this week in part to speak up about what I see as a dayeinu moment in Tennessee. Dayenu is of course the song we sing during the Passover seder that comes on the heels of the recitation of the ten plagues,
Elijah’s Cup
By Rabbi Nathan Kamesar Dear Friends, This past Shabbat, I delivered the following D’var Torah in preparation for Pesah: The last several weeks we have been reviewing a series of special shabbatot, special sabbaths, that anticipate Purim and Passover, each of which have special parshiot, special torah portions,
Welcoming Members Old and New
By Rabbi Nathan Kamesar This past Friday night, I delivered the following D’var Torah in honor of our new members who have joined us over the last couple of years: In September, we held an “Open House” Shabbat, where we made a point to say