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So, what did your rabbi say?
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BY: CJN STAFF
As they sat down to Rosh Hashanah dinner or Yom Kippur break fast, many Clevelanders asked others at the table: What did your rabbi say?
Whether you enjoyed your rabbi's High Holiday sermons or were critical of them, you only got to hear the ones at your synagogue. For those who are always curious to know what kinds of ideas and lessons were talked about at other congregations, the CJN spoke to local rabbis to compile this High Holiday sermon recap.
In his sermon this year, Rabbi Edward Bernstein urged congregants at Congregation Shaarey Tikvah (Conservative) to avoid the cultural trend toward self-abasement and low self-esteem. “During the process of teshuvah or repentance, we focus a lot of our time and energy seeking amends from people whom we have harmed in the past,” he notes. Yet, Bernstein suggests that we also make amends with the most important person in our lives, ourselves.
“How many times have we offered a compliment over an article of clothing only to hear the response, ‘Oh, this old thing?' It's like the person is saying, ‘I'm not worthy of that compliment,'” he says. Next time someone pays you a compliment, he recommended that congregants just say, “Thank you. I like it, too.”
“It sometimes requires real work or effort to be joyful, but the Bible commands us nonetheless to do so. Those of us who may struggle from time to time to maintain a positive self-image are well served by remembering this commandment,” says Bernstein.
On the first day of Rosh Hashanah, Rabbi Naphtali Burnstein of Young Israel of Greater Cleveland (Orthodox) spoke about the significance of interpersonal relationships. He urged his congregrants to become ohavay chesed, or lovers of human kindness. Not out of obligation or because we feel burdened, but because we sincerely want to help.
“My suggestion is that we take on a good deed every day,” says Burnstein. “We should take on that deed with enthusiasm, excitement and love.”
On the High Holidays, Burnstein says his sermons always offer congregrants something tangible. “Judaism is an action-packed religion, not just based on theory. I try to (discuss) something that will translate into action.”
The same is true for Rabbi Richard Block of The Temple-Tifereth Israel (Reform). Both his Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur sermons were designed to “raise consciousness and maybe motivate people to get involved,” says Block. “I always provide suggestions (at the end of the sermon) of how people can get involved.”
At Rosh Hashanah, Block tackled environmental issues such as global warming and climate change, inspired in part by the Al Gore documentary “An Inconvenient Truth.”
At Yom Kippur, he spoke on the immediate threat posed by religious extremism, both abroad and domestically. The first half of the sermon was devoted to discussing Islamic militants, such as Hezbollah and Hamas. The latter half examined “the religious right's attempt to tear down the wall between church and state and create a Christocracy,” Block says. “I have no partisan agenda, I'm not discussing any race or endorsing any candidates or parties. The issues I talked about this year, I think, affect all Jews - all Americans - whether liberal or conservative. And I respect people's right to disagree with me.” (See related article on p. 26).
At Yom Kippur morning and family services at Suburban Temple-Kol Ami (Reform), Rabbi Eric Bram visibly moved congregants by inviting all non-Jewish parents (spouses of temple members) who were raising Jewish children to come up to the bima and receive a blessing.
Bram had heard of another rabbi in California offering a similar blessing. “It resonated with me,” he says. “It's what we need to do to be a congregation that is truly welcoming.”
Bram noted that the population of American Jews is shrinking. “We can't afford to alienate those who are already with us,” he says. “They are giving us this great gift, many times at great expense to them. It is a ray of hopefulness, which is what we need on Yom Kippur.”
Rabbi Joshua Skoff approached the bima at Park Synagogue (Conservative) in the guise of Israel's first prime minister David Ben-Gurion. Donning a bushy white wig and wearing an open collared shirt, Skoff's one-man presentation employed Ben-Gurion's voice to vividly describe the miracle of Israel's birth in 1948 despite almost insurmountable odds. “In Israel, in order to be a realist, you must believe in miracles,” said “Ben-Gurion.”
Skoff's Ben-Gurion examined parallels between the '48 war and Israel's current conflict with Hezbollah; he relayed a message of hope as he urged congregants to continue their support of the Jewish state.
Skoff directed his sermon to the younger generation who need to be reminded of the specific details of Israel's founding. “I'm not sure they realize what a miracle Israel is,” he says. “I wanted Ben-Gurion, the chief architect of the Jewish state, to tell them.”
Looking at the past was also the topic for Mark Weber, madrikh (teacher) of the Jewish Secular Community. He felt it was time to revisit the events of 9/11 in his High Holiday sermon. “My purpose was to inquire as to where we are as a government and a nation in thinking about the implications of that tragedy,” says Weber.
He used George Orwell's essay “Notes on Nationalism” as the basis of his sermon. Written more than 60 years ago, Orwell's essay reflects on the differences between genuine patriotism and a more bellicose nationalism. Weber proposed “that patriotism must mean the willingness to serve the larger national community, not only in times of crisis, but as an important part of growing into adulthood.”
Rabbi Howard Ruben of Anshe Chesed Fairmount Temple (Reform) used his Rosh Hashanah pulpit to discuss Israel in the wake of the Lebanon war. Despite death, injury, destruction and economic decline in northern Israel, Ruben reminded his congregants that Rosh Hashanah is a time of hope. He did so by telling three stories of war “survivors” - a wounded soldier, a blind civilian evacuee, and the director of a youth village who ended up taking in 250 Ethiopian Israeli youngsters forced to flee their homes due to rocket fire.
“These are three heroes whose spirit, resolve and determination give hope to the future,” Ruben says.
Rabbi Moshe Adler of Beth El-The Heights Synagogue (Egalitarian/ Traditional) spoke on the Jewish people's “law of love.”
“The law of the state exists to keep people from harming each other and to encourage them to behave more humanely,” Adler says. “The law of the Torah, however, is designed to go beyond that - it is designed to reach the heart.”
Ellen Schur Brown, Janet Dery, Arlene Fine, Margi Herwald and Tybee Zuckerman contributed to this article.
Whether you enjoyed your rabbi's High Holiday sermons or were critical of them, you only got to hear the ones at your synagogue. For those who are always curious to know what kinds of ideas and lessons were talked about at other congregations, the CJN spoke to local rabbis to compile this High Holiday sermon recap.
In his sermon this year, Rabbi Edward Bernstein urged congregants at Congregation Shaarey Tikvah (Conservative) to avoid the cultural trend toward self-abasement and low self-esteem. “During the process of teshuvah or repentance, we focus a lot of our time and energy seeking amends from people whom we have harmed in the past,” he notes. Yet, Bernstein suggests that we also make amends with the most important person in our lives, ourselves.
“How many times have we offered a compliment over an article of clothing only to hear the response, ‘Oh, this old thing?' It's like the person is saying, ‘I'm not worthy of that compliment,'” he says. Next time someone pays you a compliment, he recommended that congregants just say, “Thank you. I like it, too.”
“It sometimes requires real work or effort to be joyful, but the Bible commands us nonetheless to do so. Those of us who may struggle from time to time to maintain a positive self-image are well served by remembering this commandment,” says Bernstein.
On the first day of Rosh Hashanah, Rabbi Naphtali Burnstein of Young Israel of Greater Cleveland (Orthodox) spoke about the significance of interpersonal relationships. He urged his congregrants to become ohavay chesed, or lovers of human kindness. Not out of obligation or because we feel burdened, but because we sincerely want to help.
“My suggestion is that we take on a good deed every day,” says Burnstein. “We should take on that deed with enthusiasm, excitement and love.”
On the High Holidays, Burnstein says his sermons always offer congregrants something tangible. “Judaism is an action-packed religion, not just based on theory. I try to (discuss) something that will translate into action.”
The same is true for Rabbi Richard Block of The Temple-Tifereth Israel (Reform). Both his Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur sermons were designed to “raise consciousness and maybe motivate people to get involved,” says Block. “I always provide suggestions (at the end of the sermon) of how people can get involved.”
At Rosh Hashanah, Block tackled environmental issues such as global warming and climate change, inspired in part by the Al Gore documentary “An Inconvenient Truth.”
At Yom Kippur, he spoke on the immediate threat posed by religious extremism, both abroad and domestically. The first half of the sermon was devoted to discussing Islamic militants, such as Hezbollah and Hamas. The latter half examined “the religious right's attempt to tear down the wall between church and state and create a Christocracy,” Block says. “I have no partisan agenda, I'm not discussing any race or endorsing any candidates or parties. The issues I talked about this year, I think, affect all Jews - all Americans - whether liberal or conservative. And I respect people's right to disagree with me.” (See related article on p. 26).
At Yom Kippur morning and family services at Suburban Temple-Kol Ami (Reform), Rabbi Eric Bram visibly moved congregants by inviting all non-Jewish parents (spouses of temple members) who were raising Jewish children to come up to the bima and receive a blessing.
Bram had heard of another rabbi in California offering a similar blessing. “It resonated with me,” he says. “It's what we need to do to be a congregation that is truly welcoming.”
Bram noted that the population of American Jews is shrinking. “We can't afford to alienate those who are already with us,” he says. “They are giving us this great gift, many times at great expense to them. It is a ray of hopefulness, which is what we need on Yom Kippur.”
Rabbi Joshua Skoff approached the bima at Park Synagogue (Conservative) in the guise of Israel's first prime minister David Ben-Gurion. Donning a bushy white wig and wearing an open collared shirt, Skoff's one-man presentation employed Ben-Gurion's voice to vividly describe the miracle of Israel's birth in 1948 despite almost insurmountable odds. “In Israel, in order to be a realist, you must believe in miracles,” said “Ben-Gurion.”
Skoff's Ben-Gurion examined parallels between the '48 war and Israel's current conflict with Hezbollah; he relayed a message of hope as he urged congregants to continue their support of the Jewish state.
Skoff directed his sermon to the younger generation who need to be reminded of the specific details of Israel's founding. “I'm not sure they realize what a miracle Israel is,” he says. “I wanted Ben-Gurion, the chief architect of the Jewish state, to tell them.”
Looking at the past was also the topic for Mark Weber, madrikh (teacher) of the Jewish Secular Community. He felt it was time to revisit the events of 9/11 in his High Holiday sermon. “My purpose was to inquire as to where we are as a government and a nation in thinking about the implications of that tragedy,” says Weber.
He used George Orwell's essay “Notes on Nationalism” as the basis of his sermon. Written more than 60 years ago, Orwell's essay reflects on the differences between genuine patriotism and a more bellicose nationalism. Weber proposed “that patriotism must mean the willingness to serve the larger national community, not only in times of crisis, but as an important part of growing into adulthood.”
Rabbi Howard Ruben of Anshe Chesed Fairmount Temple (Reform) used his Rosh Hashanah pulpit to discuss Israel in the wake of the Lebanon war. Despite death, injury, destruction and economic decline in northern Israel, Ruben reminded his congregants that Rosh Hashanah is a time of hope. He did so by telling three stories of war “survivors” - a wounded soldier, a blind civilian evacuee, and the director of a youth village who ended up taking in 250 Ethiopian Israeli youngsters forced to flee their homes due to rocket fire.
“These are three heroes whose spirit, resolve and determination give hope to the future,” Ruben says.
Rabbi Moshe Adler of Beth El-The Heights Synagogue (Egalitarian/ Traditional) spoke on the Jewish people's “law of love.”
“The law of the state exists to keep people from harming each other and to encourage them to behave more humanely,” Adler says. “The law of the Torah, however, is designed to go beyond that - it is designed to reach the heart.”
Ellen Schur Brown, Janet Dery, Arlene Fine, Margi Herwald and Tybee Zuckerman contributed to this article.
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