Rabbi Sherman - Honorable Mensch-ion

Sukkot is called z’man simchateinu, a time of happiness. The Torah commands us, v’samachta b’chagecha, you should rejoice in your festival. Yet, this week has been one of sadness. A short litany of events; personal loss in our family and...

Last week, I led our community in the Unetaneh Tokef prayer. We sang, Mi yichye u mi yamoot, who shall live and who shall die. This week, this prayer is more than words; it is my reality. Last Sunday, my...

Once it happened that a young boy from a small village came to a big town for the first time. He stopped at an inn, on the outskirts of the town. Suddenly he heard the sound of a bugle. He...

The Talmud teaches that atop of King David’s bed, hung a harp. As soon as midnight would arrive, a northerly wind would blow upon the strings of the harp and cause it to play itself. The music would awaken King...

While scrolling my Twitter feed after Hurricane Harvey’s landfall, I saw a post by University of Houston basketball coach, Kelvin Sampson. He made a simple ask. Send 20 t-shirts to Houston. On my bookshelf, I spotted 20 leftover T-shirts from...

I was in line for frozen yogurt last night minding my own business as the customer in front of me started to gossip and use inappropriate language. She noticed the kippah on my head, and said out loud, “I shouldn’t...

In a Philadelphia shopping mall this week, a large sign hanging from the ceiling read, “Seeing is believing.” Today, driving through Lancaster, Pennsylvania I noticed church after church with membership advertisements One read, “God knows you…but do you know God?”...

The modern theologian Rabbi Neil Gilman once assigned our Rabbinical school class this task: Create your own God metaphor. We were required to ask the same question that we ask our own toddlers, “What does God look like to you?”...

I paid a visit to an orthopedist this week after complaining too much that my foot hurt. I was certain that I had a sports injury. Surprisingly, the doctor gave me the all clear, but he also told me, "Rabbi you're not twelve years old anymore."

It is hard to describe the feeling of welcoming in Shabbat. You must experience it in order to be able to describe it. That is because welcoming in Shabbat is not only a thought in our minds, but an action of our bodies and souls.