A Letter to My Children (Rosh Hashanah Sermon 2017/5778)
09/25/2017 01:07:51 PM
Rosh Hashanah Sermon 2017/5778
To my dearest children,
There comes a time in every family's life where the playthings and the good times must be put on hold for a short time so some serious words can be said. There comes a time in every Jewish family where parents have to sit down with their children and speak of what it means to be a Jew in a Gentile...Read more...
Road Trip Judaism
08/10/2017 05:22:41 PM
This summer like many American families, we packed up our gear, kicked the tires and hit the road. My family and I went on a 3,500 mile road trip across seven states camping, hiking, floating and spelunking our way through national parks and monuments. In the early morning we woke our children and placed them gingerly in the overladen minivan. We had a plan: out by six, arrive by three; make...Read more...
Rabbis must navigate politics and morality
06/14/2017 12:19:21 PM
BY RABBI NOAH ZVI FARKAS
Published June 13, 2017, Jewish Journal (Click here to read the article on JewishJournal.com)
Like many others, I read Rabbi David Wolpe's op-ed on politics and the pulpit with a sense of profound ambivalence (“Why I Keep Politics Off the Pulpit,” June 9). I found myself caught between ovation and...Read more...
How to Find Happiness
05/11/2017 04:24:09 PM
BY RABBI NOAH ZVI FARKAS
“These are the times that are called holy” Leviticus 23:2
There was an economic survey back in the 1970s that asked a series of questions that can be boiled down to the inquiry, “are you happy?” The economists behind the survey wanted to know-- in a long period of economic growth where incomes were rising and debts...Read more...
Parashat Tazria-Metzora: The burden and gift of empathy
04/28/2017 04:32:55 PM
Parashat Tazria-Metzora: The burden and gift of empathy
BY RABBI NOAH ZVI FARKAS | PUBLISHED APR 26, 2017 | TORAH PORTION
For the past eight years, I have led a study group for physicians from my congregation. Every few months, we get together for good food, some wine (OK, lots of wine) and to discuss issues like medical ethics.
About three years ago, several of the sessions...Read more...
Getting organized, with Moses leading from the back
04/28/2017 04:31:58 PM
Getting organized, with Moses leading from the back
BY RABBI NOAH ZVI FARKAS | PUBLISHED APR 5, 2017 | PASSOVER
This holiday season, Jews across the globe will gather together for Passover to eat, share stories and retell the tale of the Exodus. The Passover seder is the most celebrated Jewish event all year long " even avowedly secular and disaffected Jews will try to find a...Read more...
Walking Around AIPAC
03/30/2017 04:00:25 PM
This past week, Rabbi Hoffman, Cantor Baron and I led a very large delegation to Washington DC for the annual AIPAC Policy Conference. With 18,000 delegates in attendance from over 50 countries around the world, it was the largest-ever gathering of Israel supporters in history. For three days, we learned together and celebrated Israel together.
From my perspective, as someone who has not attended the AIPAC...Read more...
On Punching a Nazi
01/26/2017 11:11:15 AM
Right now, there is a viral video making its way across the internet of the Alt-right leader, Richard Spencer getting clocked by an unknown assailant. Spencer has been denying the Holocaust, rousing xenophobia, and hosting rallies in conferences which include Nazi-era salutes. Spencer says he is not a Nazi, yet his choosing to fashion himself on the model of early twentieth century German iconography, paired with a lapel pin...Read more...
This Is Us - Hanukkah 2016
12/29/2016 04:30:24 PM
This year for the first time in decades, the calendar has coincidentally packed together four holiday traditions into one symbol-laden week. The first night of Hanukkah coincided with Christmas. A day later the African-American spiritual celebration of Kwanza began. The last night of Hanukkah is joined by the celebration of New Year's Eve. Each of these Holidays, celebrated distinctly, teaches part of the...Read more...
Reading It Backwards
08/18/2016 04:54:57 PM
The Torah can certainly be a confusing text. One can even say that entire project of Judaism is staked on this claim. It is up to the king, the prophet, or rabbi in their generation to disentangle the many threads of the Torah's wisdom and make them intelligible to their community.
For the king, the process of enlightenment is found in the rule of law. One imagines the king sitting on his throne and listening to the plaints of the...Read more...
Mon, November 25 2024
24 Cheshvan 5785
