As you enter the Knesset, Israel’s parliament building, you pass a replica of the Declaration of Independence. The first line states, “We hereby declare the establishment of a Jewish state in Eretz Yisrael.”
Posts by Rabbi Erez Sherman
Sacred Silence
Our daily interactions with strangers are often mundane. Yet, when a scared moment occurs, we must stop and notice.
Alma Matters
Do you recall the words to your high school alma mater? While I cannot recite all of the lyrics of mine, I do remember the concluding verse, “As we go on through the years, friendships hold whether far or near, as we sing, “Manner makyth man.”
Heavenly Torah
The most nerve-racking job for a Rabbi is to walk into a pre-school classroom unprepared.
Power
In the new book, Reorganized Religion, veteran religion writer Bob Smietana analyzes the seismic shifts in religious disaffiliation in America: Synagogues and churches closing and merging, a larger category of “nones,” those who call themselves spiritual yet proudly declare their independence of connection to a religious community. Last week, in The Wall Street Journal, the report was more enthusiastic, as Clare Ansberry described the uptick in young professionals desire for organized religion and sacred community.
Balance
A philosophical question: Is it harder to wait for the beginning or the end? Was it more difficult to wait for your first bite of matzah than for your first bite of chametz last night?
Mah Nishtana
Rabbi Nachman in the Talmud once asked his servant, “What should a servant do if his master not only frees him, but rewards him with great wealth?” The servant replied, “He should thank him and praise him.” Rabbi Nachman thought for a moment and said, “You have exempted us from singing the Mah Nishtana, the Four Questions.”
Determined
As we begin the month of Nissan, we prepare for our Passover Seders, both physically cleaning our home and spiritually cleansing our souls. While Passover is the birth of the Jewish people, we must not forget that the days following Passover lead to the narrative of the modern Exodus, from the depths of the Holocaust to the rebirth of the promised land of Israel.
Anger & Indignation
When Moses came down the mountain and shattered the tablets on the golden calf, the Torah says vahiychar af, Moses was angry. However, Rabbi Joseph Herz makes a distinction between anger and indignation. The Rabbis teach that one who breaks anything in anger is like an idolater. Anger is selfish and an emotional reaction. Herz further explains that indignation is a moral response that we feel when we see a great wrong committed. This is what Moses felt when he witnessed the golden calf; the event did not hurt him personally but rather erased the Divine presence from the people Israel.
Conductors of Our Lives
Just a few years ago, birthday party conversation centered around social and cultural talk: the best movies and the most delicious restaurants. Today, the chatter is different. You hear in depth analysis of the most current acts of antisemitism–internationally, nationally, and on a micro level, affecting our own neighborhoods.
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