18 is Chai. It means life, a time to celebrate. But 18 years ago, the world changed. I am amazed at how quickly the years fly by, feeling as if I just wrote this same message yesterday, and the day before that. 9/11/2001, as a sophomore at Columbia University and a pre-med student, I saw a different future than the present I live in. That day changed my life as I asked myself, “Who do I want to be?” That semester was the end of my pre-med career and the beginning of my Rabbinic and musical journey, intertwining at each…
Posts by Rabbi Erez Sherman
Zero Debris
Our family spent Labor Day at the Santa Monica beach, teaching our children to boogie board and build sand castles. A man sat in the car next to us as we arrived, filming a documentary. Out of curiosity, I asked him what he was filming. He handed me his card, and announced he was the proud founder of Zero Debris, an organization that cleans the Santa Monica Beach and other bodies of water around the world. He then continued, “I soon realized after I started to clean the debris on the beach that I also have debris in my soul….
Empty Handed
We are commanded when we appear before God on the three festival holidays not to be empty handed. Give what we can give, but give we must. While this must be taken literally in the times of the Temple, it also must be a metaphor for the Judaism we wish to practice today. Rabbi Bernard Berzon explains that an optimistic Jew looks at the rush of people to the synagogue on Rosh Hashanah and shouts, “Our future is here.” Yet when they leave they are empty, thinking the Jewish year can go on without them. The pessimistic Jew sees indifference…
Satisfaction
We are required to recite birkat hamazon, grace after meals, after we eat a k’zayit, the amount of an olive. The Torah teaches, achalta vasavata, uverachta, we should eat and be satisfied, and then we should bless. There are two conditions before the blessing is recited; both eating and satisfaction. So what if I eat an olive’s worth and am not full? Our Rabbis teach, you still say a blessing. The lesson is deep; while we may not feel satisfied, it is up to us to find satisfaction within any moment of being nourished. The word savata, to be satisfied,…
Study
When I meet a new parent in our synagogue community, I often ask this question and do not expect an answer, “I know what you want for your child; a well rounded Jewish education, with knowledge of the customs and laws of Shabbat, and history of the holidays. But have you thought of what you would want from your Torah learning?” A Jews is obligated to participate in daily Torah study. The Rabbis place texts within our daily prayers to ensure this practice takes place. The fear was that neglect of Torah study would be the neglect of Judaism, and…
Stones
The common custom when visiting a cemetery is to place a stone upon the grave. Several explanations exist… Moses carves the tablets from stone, a stone is a metaphor for the eternal God, and Jacob’s ladder arises from a stone. The Zohar teaches us tzur hei haolamim, the soul arises from the stone of the mountain. It is a two-fold ritual. The grave symbolizing the soul that left, and the stone we leave symbolizing our own soul, bound together by our deeds. This Shabbat, we read the Haftarah in the melody of Eicha, Lamentations. We literally cry due to the…
Where Is America?
On Monday evening, as we traveled from the Philadelphia airport to my parents’ home in Elkins Park, PA, the boathouses on the Schuylkill River were illuminated in red, white, and blue. My son turned around and shouted, “Abba, they celebrate America in Philadelphia too!!” After explaining that we live in America, from Philadelphia to Los Angeles, from sea to shining sea, his comment reminded me that it is my responsibility to teach him about the different journeys of our family history; from Poland to Philadelphia, from Syracuse, NY, to Los Angeles, CA. It brought back memories of my childhood, growing…
Doubles
This week was marked by doubles. I attended a shiva in between brit milah ceremonies. Each ceremony was filled with tears. The mohel explained we wait until the 8th day for a bris in order for the baby to experience a perfect Shabbat. As the parents explained the name of the child, tears flowed down their cheeks, invoking the additional soul that was brought back into this world. And at the house of mourning, tears of grief and laughter were shared-remembering the physical presence that was lost, but cognizant of the soul that was truly present. I witnessed this family,…
Who Has Blessed You?
In searching my inbox for a certain file, I came across an article I wrote 10 years ago as a rabbinic intern. Not only did it correspond with Parshat Balak, but it also honored the first yahrtzeit of my grandmother, Anne Sherman, z’l. Bracha, blessing, is an overused word in Judaism, so much so that blessings are taken lightly. Yet, the challenge in our faith is to recognize where our blessings come from- Who is our source of blessing? Who or what makes us into the blessed people we hope to be? As a four-year old child, I would stand…
From Zion to Zion
As you enter Zion National Park in Springdale, Utah, the recorded narration plays in the shuttle bus. One voice from the Paiute Native American tribe declares, “We believe that everything in this world has a purpose. Human beings, animals, trees, and even rocks.” As you gaze upwards and outwards you truly see God’s creative masterpieces: the Narrows Canyons, hanging gardens of greenery in the desert, and beautiful red rock from iron mineral carved into magnificent structures. Rabbi Guzik and I, along with our three young children, hiked up and down and all around, often outside of our normal comfort zone,…
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