From the Bimah: Jewish Lessons for Life

Latest Episodes:

Shabbat Sermon: The Case of the Missing Mitzvah with Rabbi Wes Gardenswartz May 29, 2021

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I want to tell you an odd story, not well known. I’ll call it the case of the missing mitzvah. The Hebrew Bible relates two cases when important mitzvot were lost to the Jewish people. Jews just stopped doing them, in one case for 40 years, in the other case for hundreds of years.

Shabbat Sermon: Orpah's Kiss with Rabbi Wes Gardenswartz May 22, 2021

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We have all been thinking a lot about Israel the last two weeks. I want to talk to you this morning about an Israel story, and a human story, that you won’t find in the papers. It is about a kiss.

It is a kiss that many of us will give, and many of us will receive, in our lives. It is a kiss that we about this past Tuesday, on Shavuot, in the Book of Ruth.

Talmud Class: Moral Bankruptcy or Moral Courage? May 22, 2021

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From May 22, 2021

Shabbat Sermon: New Normal with Rabbi Michelle Robinson May 15, 2021

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Join our wonderful Rabbi Michelle Robinson on May 15, 2021.

Talmud Class: Prayers for Israel May 15, 2021

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From May 15th, 2021.

Talmud Class: Melody and Meaning—What might an upbeat melody teach us about a sober message? May 08, 2021

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From May 8th, 2021

Shabbat Sermon: Anything, Not Everything with Rav Hazzan Aliza Berger May 08, 2021

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Madeline always loved to sing. As a teenager, she had a gorgeous voice, a two-and-a-half octave range, and the kind of creative artistry that made people swoon. She and her friends would sing along to Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, and Judy Garland, and she took the stage at every wedding and bar mitzvah she could. In high school, won an adult talent contest at the Adams Theater in Newark. On her way out, comedian Joey Adams told her that she “had a very good voice and…should pursue it.”

That dream was tempting....but Madeline’s family was struggling.

Talmud Class: Is Your Moral Voice More or Less Powerful than a Troubling Torah Verse? May 01, 2021

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From May 1, 2021

Shabbat Sermon: YOLO with Rabbi Wes Gardenswartz May 01, 2021

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We’ve known this for a while, but suddenly the realization that you only live once has taken on a fierce urgency. The acronym YOLO, you only live once, was popularized by the rapper Drake in 2013, but as we are emerging from the pandemic YOLO has a new energy as a call to action. Last week New York Times writer Kevin Roose authored a piece entitled “Welcome to the YOLO economy” about how many millennial workers, as they emerge from the pandemic, want to make real changes to their lives because you only live once.

Talmud Class: Abuser or Penitent? Apr 24, 2021

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From April 24th, 2021.