Clergy Sermons

At Central Synagogue

Sermons from September 2017

Al Kol Eileh: Processing Loss on our Terms (Yom Kippur 5778)

Julia R. Cadrain | September 30, 2017

Our process of saying goodbye and mourning can evolve, too. Perhaps this is why we are called upon to attend yizkor services year after year. Because after someone dies, our memories remain dynamic and our relationships may continue to transform over time.

The Memory of Light (Yom Kippur 5778)

Daniel Mutlu | September 30, 2017

These set periods and traditions help us to grieve–they give us something to do when we feel lost. But at some point after losing a loved one, we inevitably arrive at their birthday, starkly without them. For me it was on May 23rd. All of a sudden I found myself not only caught off-guard but also without a set course to follow. How was I to think of this special day now that it too had been forever changed?

Yom Kippur Appeal 5778

Abigail Pogrebin | September 29, 2017

For my wonderful Mom, her habits, traditions, and rituals are ingrained and immovable. I learned how to set a Jewish table from her. How to make crispy potato latkes. The importance of lighting a menorah for eight nights and attending two family seders. I absorbed the pride of being Jewish from her, and yes, how to repurpose last night’s chicken. What I didn’t learn, however, was the value and power of being part of a synagogue.

Then we Shall Rebuild Ourselves with Love (Yom Kippur 5778)

Stephanie D. Kolin | September 29, 2017

This brief, but illuminating instruction manual, suggests to us that, in our tradition, love is more than an emotion; love is an action. If I tell you that I love my friend, but I never spend time with them, I don’t help them when they’re sick, I don’t show up when they need me – then my saying I love them is a whole lot of words and not much else.

Shamor V’Zachor: Reflections on the 50th Anniversary of the ‘67 War (Yom Kippur 5778)

Angela W. Buchdahl | September 29, 2017

This summer, for the first time, I crossed the Green Line, to witness the post-’67 landscape for myself. I visited Israeli settlements in the Gush Etzion bloc, and then I joined a group of Jewish leaders on an Encounter trip where we met with Palestinian leaders in the West Bank. We were asked to engage in “resilient listening,” which meant listening to stories without trying to argue or persuade--not an easy things for Jews--but listening simply in order better to understand the other side.