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Posts by Rabbi Erez Sherman

Ambiguous Loss


Pauline Boss, in her book “Ambiguous Loss” explains healing requires some measure of clarity. “Only when things are made right again can people put their losses to rest.” How could it be that last Shabbat, I attended a beautiful Bat Mitzvah, celebrated with a family at their moment of utmost joy, and just minutes later, glued to the news for the next ten hours, praying for the safety of the hostages in Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas? Questions flowed through our minds; could it have been us? Our worship spaces are intended for our safety and our refuge, not…

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Trees


The Song of The Sea tells us “This is my God and I will enshrine God.” Onkelos, who translates the Torah into Aramaic, elaborates on the idea of enshrining God in our lives. We must build places for God to dwell in, but we also must bring God’s splendor to the inhabitants of the world. What an appropriate lesson as we also celebrate Tu Bishvat this coming week, the New Year of the trees. So many of our most formidable moments of Jewish prayer and spirituality take place in nature, under God’s canopy of trees. Ask a child to name a favorite place they have celebrated Shabbat, and most will say, “I love being at camp.” It is in the natural beauty of the world where God is enshrined, and we our tasked to grasp hold of that splendor to bring inside our homes, our communities, and our hearts.

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Pa


My grandfather was known as Pa. He was born in Poland, came to the United States in the 1920s, and was a tire salesman in the Philadelphia area. Pa loved his Judaism and he loved people: A cashier, a store clerk, his doctor, his rabbi, his family, and strangers. He could never meet someone and not ask them a question or tell them a story. Our family named this extroverted characteristic “Pa-itis,” and we like to say this trait does not skip a generation.

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New Year’s Freedom


I would always challenge myself as a child to stay up until midnight and watch the ball drop in Times Square each New Year’s Eve. With the advent of DVR and a 9pm ball drop on the west coast, the challenge does not feel as urgent these days.

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Names


The Book of Exodus is primarily spent on the Israelites’ journey into slavery and the transformation of this tribe into a Jewish people with God’s revelation at Mount Sinai.

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Circles


What circle are you a part of? I ask this question each year to graduating high school seniors. By this time in their lives, they are a part of many circles: The family, the synagogue, the community, the city, the United States, the people of Israel, and the world.

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The Power of Exile


The Jewish story is one of exile and redemption. At times we live inside our land, and at times we live outside our land. While these two concepts appear to be polar opposites, the same root is found in both words; galut, exile, and geulah, redemption, both meaning “to reveal.”

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An Attitude of Gratitude


During my Rabbinic internship at Temple Sholom, in Greenwich, CT, Rabbi Mitch Hurvitz would preach a consistent message: An “attitude of gratitude.” Whether it be in a religious school classroom, pre-school Shabbat, or Yom Kippur sermon, the attitude for gratitude was necessary to build a sacred community. For many Americans, Thanksgiving is the moment where we actively acknowledge our life’s blessings. At the dinner table, we publicly recite what we are grateful for in ways which we may passively accept the rest of the year.

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