By Rabbi Erez Sherman on
August 7, 2020
Each year when Parshat Eikev arrives, I think to myself, “If I knew then…” Twenty-six years ago, I celebrated my Bar Mitzvah, acting as teacher and preacher. While I cannot recall the words I said that morning, I can remember the feeling that the world was at my fingertips. In one year, I would be graduating middle school, in four years, college. And yet, today I wish I could go back to that Bar Mitzvah boy, and say, “If I Knew Then…” If I knew then… I would celebrate utmost joy in marriage to Rabbi Guzik, and be the father…
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By Rabbi Erez Sherman on
July 31, 2020
Questions of faith arise during times of challenge. Last night, as I browsed the TV stations, I chanced upon a talk show on JBS, Jewish Broadcasting Service. It happened to be an interview my father, Rabbi Charles Sherman, participated in almost ten years ago with Rabbi Mark Golub, and the topic was faith. Faith is at the forefront of our society and the Jewish community. Every day, our children ask, “When will coronavirus be over?” “Why do I have to wear my mask?” “Why is God doing this to us?” While we wish we had answers, the Jewish response must…
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By Rabbi Erez Sherman on
July 24, 2020
Last Shabbat was my grandfather’s yahrzeit. My Zaide, Bertram Hurowitz, made Aliyah at the age of 90 to be closer to three of his children living in Israel. Each year, the family visits his grave on Kibbutz Sde Eliyahu and holds a memorial. This year was different. The yahrzeit fell on Shabbat, and COVID did not allow such a large gathering. Instead, our family around the world gathered on Zoom. We called it the “Zaide Zoom.” Each family unit submitted pictures to be shared to all of our screens and spoke for 5 minutes on the impact that Zaide had…
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By Rabbi Erez Sherman on
July 3, 2020
Each week is a week like no other. July 4th signifies independence, summer, and fireworks. Yet, tomorrow, we celebrate without fireworks, without gatherings, without the sparks in the air. The first July 4th fireworks were set off on July 4th, 1776, just one year after the founding of America. The Pennsylvania Evening Post reported the ships were dressed with the colors of the United States and streamers displayed. The evening concluded with a grand exhibition of fireworks. While we may not see the sky lit ablaze, our tradition encourages us to light a spark in our lives each and every…
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By Rabbi Erez Sherman on
June 26, 2020
Twenty four years ago, on Parshat Korach, my brother celebrated his Bar Mitzvah. It was not a normal Bar Mitzvah. Being a quadriplegic, Eyal could not walk or talk. The microphone would be of no help. And yet, his wheelchair was pushed onto the bima, a camera flashed his face onto a gigantic screen, and the congregation responded “Amen” to his blessing over the Torah. I recently looked at his speech from that special morning. This is what he said: “Some people never thought I would have a Bar Mitzvah because I’m in a wheelchair and on a respirator. But…
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By Rabbi Erez Sherman on
June 19, 2020
In a memoir there are two “I’s”: the character “I,” and the narrator “I.” The character is the one in the story, and the narrator is the one controlling how the story is told. A memoir is not something that happened to you. A memoir is what you have learned from your story. The Torah teaches that entering the Promised Land is not as easy as it looks. Each one of us has dreams, wishes, and goals. Yet we also face the reality and present conditions in our vulnerable world. While the spies entered the land and saw the same…
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By Rabbi Erez Sherman on
June 12, 2020
Today is the last day of school. In the world of yesterday, that meant a change of program from the regular school and work days, and a transition to camp. That also would mean a change of dress. From the slacks, shirt and tie to a transition to shorts and sneakers, interacting with our Sinai Temple families through the joy of sport and recreation. And while that simple change of dress code may seem trite, it is during this unique and strange time that it has a deeper message for us all. We dress in a different manner for a…
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By Rabbi Erez Sherman on
June 5, 2020
Acquire a friend, our Rabbis teach. Not make a friend or become a friend. Acquire a friend. I have written many times in this column of my special friendship with Pastor John Paul Foster of Faithful Central Bible Church. We dine together, we pray together. We have laughed together and we have cried together. The Talmud teaches, “I have learned much from my teachers and more from my friends than from my teachers.” To have a friend is to have a true relationship, moments when you can lean on the other, moments when they can lean on you. To have…
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By Rabbi Erez Sherman on
May 28, 2020
When I went looking for a fresh piece of fruit this morning, I could not find it. As I searched our home, my daughter told me the fruit bowl was in her room. It was positioned in front of the web camera, as her class was preparing for Shavuot. Shavuot is also known as Chag Habikurim, the festival of the first fruits. There is something special about firsts. The excitement, the anxiety, the fear, and the rush of adrenaline that accompanies the potential of firsts; the first time your favorite fruits appear on the shelves of grocery stores, the first…
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By Rabbi Erez Sherman on
May 22, 2020
In June of 1967, two college students were finishing their study abroad program in Jerusalem when most parents told their children to return home leading up to the imminent Six Day War. These two college students decided to stay in Jerusalem. After Jerusalem was unified days later, these two students witnessed a miracle; the Torah scrolls were marched to the Kotel for the holiday of Shavuot for the first time in almost 2000 years. They never left. These students are my aunt and uncle, and they began our family’s relationship with the State of Israel in a deep and meaningful…
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