Rabbi Paul Moses Strasko - Sinai Sermon - 21 Sept 2019 - Ki Tavo 5779

Rabbi Paul Moses Strasko - Sinai Sermon - 21st Sept 2019 from Sinai on Vimeo.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Rabbinical Ordination in Germany

Image
(Photo note: I thought a photo of building in the New City would be an apt metaphore for the rest of the post.) Folks, this is a monumental moment. The Abraham Geiger Kolleg at the University of Potsdam , the rabbinical school that I will be attending beginning October 2007, will be ordaining three rabbis at the newly rebuilt synagogue in Dresden on Thursday (September 14, 2006). This is the first rabbinical ordination in Germany since the Holocaust. I want everyone to take a minute (really, please do this) and think about this. Raise your hands if you would have predicted this 20 years ago. Right—me neither. Let there be no confusion about this – this is a testament both to Jews and to Germans. This is a pure and tangible example of healing through all the things that lead to healing—hard work, sweat, necessity, opportunity, and dare I say, a universal and spiritual imperative to heal . I knew this was coming and knew it was a big deal, but the article that one...
Read more

It's Complicated

Image
(Picture Note -- Sandra and I at the beach in Tel Aviv -- I am really going to miss this place.) During our first weeks in rabbinical school, we were told that our program was a combination professional school, graduate school, and seminary. Although I believe that there is truth in this analysis (after all, our hours spent in class seem to reflect three programs rather than one) I think that there is also an indefinable fourth school at play—let’s call it the discard-all-preconceived-notions-school— perhaps we might even call it the “pay close attention and you might learn something really valuable” school. HUC chooses to call it the “Israel Seminar,” and for anyone who decided this year to allow for the possibility that someone in Israel might know something more than they about this region, the Israel Seminar provided an education that money simply cannot buy. I had my own share of preconceptions about Israel . As a self-proclaimed moderate I believed that I possessed ...
Read more

Ask the Rabbi: Two Days of Chag for Pilgrimage Festivals vs. Two Days of Rosh Hashanah

Since my interviews last year, I have consistently maintained that if there is something odd or confusing encountered in any of the changes to our services that have come up while I have led services, that I would much prefer that the questions be asked directly to me than spoken about in frustration where I an unable to aid in the dialogue. If something comes up, I encourage you to email me at: rabbi@sinaileeds.uk with the heading “Ask the Rabbi” and I will happily answer them in order in this space. This week, the question was: “Why two days of Rosh Hashanah in Reform Judaism but not two days of Chag (holiday) for the pilgrimage festivals? (And why isn’t there a second day of Yom Kippur!?)” We can quickly deal with Yom Kippur. The answer as to why there has never been a doubling of days of observance lies in pekuach nefesh —the saving of a life. Two days of complete fasting is simply much more dangerous than one, which for healthy people is not dangerous. Isn’t it nice to hav...
Read more