A Letter to the Kids: Where Judaism Can Take You
Yom Kippur Sermon 5782 By Rabbi Nathan Kamesar I want everyone to look around for a minute. Those in the sanctuary, and those at home. Maybe Ven, our camera person can pull back for a minute so that those at home watching on Zoom can take a look at the sanctuary. I want all of […]
The Sacred Fire: Discerning How To Be In The World
Kol Nidre Sermon 5782 By Rabbi Nathan Kamesar One of the stories that struck me this year going through our annual cycle of reading the Torah is one that is not often covered in your classic Hebrew School curriculum. Long after Noah and the flood, long after the Exodus from Egypt, even long after the […]
Pathways to God: Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh, and Adonai Avoteichem
Rosh Hashanah 5782 By Rabbi Nathan Kamesar I think I know what the most important piece of Torah is. I know, it’s a lofty claim. It’s like saying you can identify the single greatest piece of art, the greatest piece of music, the greatest basketball player of all time. Sure we all have opinions, but […]
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 teachings of our ancestors, that sacred entry in our canon […]
Avodah: Service
Kol Nidre Sermon 5781 By Rabbi Nathan Kamesar Tonight for my sermon I want to talk about a makhloket, so first I have to define what that term means. A makhloket is that component of a dialogue where a disagreement is discovered. It’s not necessarily acrimonious but it’s a place where two sides fundamentally disagree. […]