Beshallah 5783 - Worlds Within Words
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Saturday, February 4, 2023 - 13 Shevat, 5783
For two years, I have kept track of my short-, medium-, and long term goals and happenings with Ryder Carroll’s Bullet Journal methodology. While everyone Bullet Journals differently, my journal contains a Someday Log, a Six-Month Log, Monthly Logs, Daily Logs, and Collections for miscellaneous topics. Some examples of my Collections include a list of Books Read in 2023, a visual map of...Read more...
Noah 5783 - The Power of Regret
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October 29, 2023 - 4 Heshvan, 5783
Brene Brown writes in her book Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience:
While some people disagree with me, I firmly believe that regret is one of our most powerful emotional reminders that reflection, change, and growth are necessary. In our research, regret emerged as a function of empathy. And, when used...Read more...
Yom Kippur 5783 - Psalm 23 and Unwavering Faith
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Wednesday, October 5, 2022 - 10 Tishrei, 5783
Pregnancy is a crazy exercise in faith. Even in a world with the technology and knowledge to avoid pregnancy most of the time, so many of us choose to pursue childbirth. Even when we know the physical and emotional risks of pregnancy - the significant chance that all may not turn out well for mother or child - news of pregnancy is often met with a hearty “Congratulations!” Every...Read more...
Rosh HaShanah 5783: Doubt and Questioning in Psalm 27
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Monday, September 26, 2022 - 1 Tishrei, 5783
Psalm 27 - Translation by Dr. Rabbi Rafael Goldstein, BCC
To David
The Holy One is the strength of my life;
Whom should I dread?
When mean-spirited people draw me near to slander me,It is these foes and enemies
Who stumble and fall.
Should an army surround me, my heart would have no...Read more...Nitzavim 5782 - Hannah and the Amidah
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Friday, September 23, 2022 - 28 Elul, 5782
We are about to experience a full month of holidays with beautiful, meaningful, very lengthy services. One of the prime reasons our services will be so lengthy is their plethora of Amidot, our standing silent prayers and their repetitions. While Rabbi Natasha and I will try to enhance the experience with kavannot (intentions and explanations), our favorite melodies, and participation from our...Read more...
Ki Tavo 5782 - Hadran Alakh: Celebrating what I've learned and what I have yet to learn
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September 17, 2022 - 21 Elul, 5782
In the world of Talmud study, every time one of the 63 tractates is complete, learners celebrate with a l’hayim and the Aramaic words, “hadran alakh.” “I will return to you!” Even after spending a whole lot of time squinting at the tiny letters of Talmud, deciphering obscure Jewish law, grammatical arguments, and ancient bickering, learners acknowledge that they’re not done learning yet....Read more...
Shoftim 5782 - God Beyond Gender
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Saturday, September 3, 2022
In a Midrash from Pesikta d’Rav Kahana, God appears at Mount Sinai as exactly what and whom each person in the crowd needs to see. That way, when God says, “I am Adonai your God (Exodus 20:2)” - אנכי ה׳ אלהיך, each person knows that God is speaking directly to them.
As Cadence Dodson taught us at her bat mitzvah last year, each of us has the opportunity to hold the image or sound of...Read more...
Eikev 5782 - What Does Your God Ask From You?
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Saturday, August 20, 2022
ועתה ישראל מה ה׳ אלהיך שאל מעמך?
And now, Israel, what does Adonai your God ask from you? (Deuteronomy 10:12).
Before I offer a Biblical answer, I’m curious about your ideas. What do you think God asks from you?
The Torah offers the answer to that question, “What does God ask from you?”:...Read more...
Eikev 5782 - You Are What You Eat: Birkat HaMazon
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Friday, August 19, 2022
After Shabbat lunch on Saturday mornings, we recite Birkat HaMazon. As slowly as we sing it, it is often too fast to get in all of the words. At the same time, even with the abbreviated version we use at Agudath Achim, I have heard quite a few people groan about how long it takes to get through our prayer after eating. Even with all the length of Birkat HaMazon, the commandment to bless after eating comes...Read more...
Va'ethanan 5782 - Acknowledging Our Privilege
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August 12, 2022 - 16 Av, 5782
In the book, Raising A+ Human Beings, Dr. Bruce Powell explains the idea of “privilege” using the wise words of Rabbi Edward Feinstein:
During a Shabbat exposition of the week’s Torah portion, Rabbi Edward Feinstein of Valley Beth Shalom in Encino, California, made the following comment: “Some people who were born on third base believe that they had hit a...Read more...
Va'ethanan 5782 - Transparency in Knowledge is Power
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August 13, 2022 - 16 Av, 5782
Did you know - in a kosher kitchen, you may use glass dishes for either meat or dairy and simply wash them in between uses? Also, if you happen to eat cold dairy on a meat dish or cold meat on a dairy dish, the dish and food are still considered kosher. If a piece of cold meat accidentally touches a piece of cold cheese in your fridge, you can just cut a bit off of the meat and cheese for both to be...Read more...
Devarim 5782 - The Span of Our Life is Seventy Years
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August 6, 2022 - 9 Av, 5782
In the year 5783 - both in the time that has passed and the time we have left - six members of our congregation have celebrated their 70th birthdays. As two of these celebrations were in the past week, and one is soon to come, now is a fitting time for us to explore the significance of the age and number of 70 in Jewish tradition.
Right off the bat, we address one jarring Biblical reference to...Read more...
Mattot-Masei 5782 - Moshe's Double Standard
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July 30, 2022 - 2 Av, 5782
A previous rabbinic mentor of mine had a habit of starting meetings late or needing to reschedule at the last minute. Every time this rabbi lagged behind or changed plans, I would become so angry; how dare he disrespect my time?! After a while, I questioned why a few minutes here or there frustrated me so much and realized that a whole lot of that frustration was directed at myself. I could not imagine how...Read more...
Pinhas 5782 - 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline
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Saturday, July 23, 2022 - 23 Tamuz, 5782
Beginning this past Sunday, July 17, the quick-dial phone number 988 has been designated by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration as our national Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. While the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline has existed since 2005, the new number of 988 allows for easier recall than the previous number, and expanded funding from Congress allows for updated...Read more...
Pinhas 5782 - Forward-Thinking Leadership
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Friday, July 22, 2022 - 23 Tamuz, 5782
We will not be here forever. While we’ve had this conversation before regarding end-of-life planning, one of the most difficult parts about grasping the reality of our impermanence is envisioning and preparing for the world we want to see when we’re gone. While that envisioning and preparation may seem like lofty, inaccessible ideas, we can also see them at a smaller scale. Even if we’d...Read more...
Nasso 5782 - In Celebration of B'nei Mitzvah
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June 10, 2022 - 11 Sivan, 5782
Between Lex’s b’nei mitzvah last week, Bella’s bat mitzvah this Shabbat, and all b’nei mitzvah in our past and future, this Jewish community has seen huge variation in what defines a b’nei mitzvah ceremony. Some of our students lead the entire service, some read Torah and a few prayers, and some complete an act of tzedakah, a creative mitzvah project. While each student teaches about something...Read more...
Behukotai 5782 - A Jewish Call for Gun Control and Safety
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May 28, 2022 - Iyar 27, 5782
When I moved to Shreveport three years ago and learned about local culture, I promised myself that I would not speak about guns on the bimah. Today, I’m breaking my promise. In the wake of this week’s shooting at Robb Elementary in Uvale, TX, and last week’s shooting in Buffalo, NY, I do not believe that talking about anything else today would be appropriate. If you are triggered by the topics of gun...Read more...
Behar 5782 - Expecting the Unexpected
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May 21, 2022 - Iyar 20, 5782
My Pop-pop, my maternal grandfather, always used to say, “Bring a swimsuit wherever you go. You never know when you might need it.” Throughout my childhood and up until today, my parents’ home has always been stocked with a whole lot of snacks, extra towels and sheets, and of course, extra dog leashes and treats, just in case a visitor may knock on the door. Through the actions of those who raised...Read more...
Emor 5782 - Jews and Tattoos
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Saturday, May 14, 2022 - Iyar 13, 5782
I’m not quite sure where this myth originated, but I know I heard it in my childhood - Jews with tattoos may not be buried in Jewish cemeteries. This myth is entirely false. Just as any Jewish person who orders chicken parmesan at a restaurant may be buried at any cemetery they and their family pleases, a Jew with a tattoo may be buried anywhere, as well. Just as you will be allowed to attend...Read more...
Emor 5782 - Seven Weeks and Seven Days to Revelation
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Friday, May 13, 2022 - Iyar 13, 5782
Every night, from the second evening of Pesah until Shavuot, we count the omer. On that second night of Pesah, we say a blessing and state, “Tonight is the first night of the omer.” We continue counting, with reference to the number of days and weeks we have experienced so far. During this time, with the exception of a few days, we refrain from shaving, haircuts, and celebratory activities like...Read more...
Kedoshim 5782 - How I Spend a Shabbat Afternoon
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Saturday, May 7, 2022 - Iyar 6, 5782
As the sun begins to set later and later, the amount of time we have between our morning Shabbat service and Havdalah lengthens. Tonight, Havdalah time is 8:40. For those of us who actively keep Shabbat, that means we don’t spend money, cook, bake, sew, knit, write, draw, build, garden, or a whole lot more until after many kids in this congregation are already asleep. Alas, no Dvorak’s New...Read more...
Pesah (Yizkor) 5782 - Where do we go when we die?
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April 23, 2022 - 22 Nisan, 5782
I have been asked quite a bit recently about what Judaism has to say about life after death, and I have no single concrete answer. Certain streams of Judaism support an idea of reincarnation, while others support a notion of Gehennah (a sort of “bad or neutral place”) and Gan Eden (the Garden of Eden, or a sort of “good place”). Some believe that the body splits into different souls, which end...Read more...
Tazria 5782 - Lashon HaRa: Speak No Evil
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April 2, 2022 - 1 Nisan, 5782
We are a synagogue with a long history of intense interpersonal dynamics. Like any healthy community, we have pairs of community members who know and love each other like family, and we have pairs of community members who might choose to sit on opposite sides of the room at Kiddush lunch. The people in this room have helped each other through simhas and tragedies. As is true in so many close...Read more...
Tzav 5782 - The Humanity of Embodied Judaism
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March 19, 2022 - 16 Adar II, 5782
Way back in Parashat Vaera, when the Israelites are still in Egypt, God commands Moshe: “Go to Pharaoh in the morning, behold (hinei) - he is coming out to the water, and station yourself before him at the edge of the Nile…” (Ex. 7:15). Midrash Tanhumah implicitly asks two questions, “Why is Pharaoh coming out to the water, and why does the Torah emphasize that action with the word hinei, or...Read more...
Vayikra 5782 - Pausing for Understanding
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March 11, 2022 - 9 Adar II 5782
Have you ever had a heated conversation with a loved one in which, thirty minutes in, you both realize you’re speaking about completely different things? Then, you have to go back to the beginning and start all over again, hoping you’ll understand each other this time around.
Throughout the book of Leviticus -...Read more...
Vayakhel 5782 - You Have Something to Contribute
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February 26, 2022 - 25 Adar I, 5782
When tables and chairs need to be moved, I tend to run the other way. Whenever I try to help with rearranging furniture, I will inevitably drop something on someone’s toes, get in other people’s way, or put my object down in an even less convenient place than it was before. With my small size, I am useless when it comes to carrying remotely heavy boxes.
Read more...
Ki Tisa 5782 - For Your Generations
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February 19, 2022
Last week, we focused on the words l’dorotam - for their generations, in the context of this synagogue space. We read God’s commandments to the children of Israel to keep a ner tamid (an everlasting flame), to sacrifice a lamb every Pesah, and to bring a yearly offering on Yom Kippur. In a different sense in each generation, we have kept those commandments for thousands of years; so too, our ways of practicing...Read more...
Tetzaveh 5782 - To Set Down a Burden
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February 11, 2022 - 1 Adar 11, 5782
We all carry burdens, laid upon us by our friends, our family, our jobs, and ourselves. We carry guilt, pressure, and responsibilities, the ones only we can handle. Sometimes, all of that weight feels like too much to bear; every now and again, even if just for a moment, we have to make that great effort of setting our burdens down.
Aharon, Moshe’s brother, also carries quite a literal and...Read more...
Tetzaveh 5782 - For Our Generations
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February 12, 2022 - 1 Adar 11, 5782
On October 30, 1902, 58 men signed a charter to officially found Agudath Achim Congregation. 120 years later, we are still here, and we are still thriving. I can’t know what those 58 men and their families thought we would look like in 2022, but I would like to think that they founded this congregation with the promise of our existence in mind. In 2022, we cannot even begin to fathom what...Read more...
T'rumah 5782 - The Menorah, The Cherubim and Long-Term Intention
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Friday, February 4, 2022
Imagine if you showed up to your job on the first day with zero education and zero experience and were handed a list of things to do. For many of us, we had weeks, years, or even decades of training, study, and apprenticeship before this position became available to us. Some of us are in school now, aiming for a particular career a few years down the road.
Why do we take so much time and energy...Read more...
Sat, July 27 2024
21 Tammuz 5784
Rabbi's Sermons
Bereshit - Genesis
- Parshat Bereshit: Oct. 26, 2019, October 1, 2021, October 2, 2021
- Parshat Noah: Nov. 2, 2019, October 8, 2021, Oct. 29, 2022
- Parshat Lekh-L'kha: Nov. 9, 2019, Oct. 31, 2020, Oct. 31, 2020 - Part 2, Oct. 15, 2021
- Parshat Vayeira: Nov. 16, 2019, Nov. 7, 2020, Nov. 7, 2020 - Part 2, Oct. 22, 2021, Oct. 23, 2021
- Parshat Hayei Sara: Nov. 14, 2020, Oct. 30, 2021
- Parshat Toldot: Nov. 30, 2019, Nov. 21, 2020, Nov. 6, 2021
- Parshat Vayeitzei: Nov. 28, 2020, Nov. 13, 2021
- Parshat Vayishlah: Dec. 14, 2019 , Dec. 5, 2020, November 20, 2021
- Parshat Vayeisheiv: Dec. 12, 2020, Nov. 27, 2021
- Parshat Miketz: Dec. 4, 2021
- Parshat Vayigash: Jan. 4, 2020, Dec. 26, 2020, Dec. 11, 2021
- Parshat Vay'hi: Jan. 11, 2020, Jan. 2, 2021
Shemot-Exodus
- Parshat Sh'mot: Jan. 18, 2020, Jan. 18, 2020 - Part 2, Jan. 9, 2021
- Parshat Va'eira: Jan. 25, 2021
- Parshat Bo: Feb. 1, 2020, Jan. 23, 2021
- Parshat B'shalah: Jan. 30, 2021, Jan. 15, 2022, Feb. 3, 2023, Feb.4, 2023
- Parshat Yitro: Feb. 15, 2020, Feb. 6, 2021, Feb. 6, 2021, Feb. 21, 2022, Feb. 22, 2022
- Parshat Mishpatim: Feb. 22, 2020, Feb. 18, 2023
- Parshat T'rumah: Feb. 29, 2020, Feb. 29, 2020 - Part 2, Feb. 20, 2021, Feb. 4, 2022, Feb. 5, 2022, Feb. 25, 2023
- Parshat T'tzaveh: March 7, 2020, Feb. 27, 2021, Feb. 12, 2022, Feb. 11, 2022
- Parshat Ki Tisa: March 14, 2020, March 6, 2021, February 19, 2022
- Parshot Vayak'heil-P'kudei: March 21, 2020, March 13, 2021, February 26, 2022, March 18, 2023
Vayikra-Leviticus
- Parshat Vayikra: March 20, 2021, March 11, 2022, March 24, 2023, March 25, 2023
- Parshat Tzav: April 4, 2020, March 27, 2021, March 19, 2022
- Parshat Sh'mini: April 18, 2020
- Parshot Tazria-Metzora: April 25, 2020, April 17, 2021, April 2, 2022, April 20, 2024
- Parshot Achrei Mot-Kedoshim: May 2, 2020, April 24, 2021, May 7, 2022, May 3, 2024, May 10, 2024
- Emor: May 9, 2020, May 1, 2021, May 13, 2022, May 14, 2022, May 6, 2023
- Parshot B'har-B'hukotai: May 8, 2019, May 16, 2020, May 7, 2021, May 21, 2022, May 28, 2022, May 24, 2024, May 31, 2024
Bamidbar-Numbers
- Parshat Bamidbar: May 15, 2021, May 20, 2023, June 7, 2024
- Parshat Nasso: June 6, 2020, June 6, 2020 - Part 2, May 22, 2021, June 10, 2022, June 2, 2023, June 14, 2024
- Parshat B'ha'alotcha: June 13, 2020, June 13, 2020 - Part 2, June 9, 2023, June 10, 2023, June 21, 2024
- Parshat Sh'lach: June 20, 2020, June 20, 2020 - Part 2, June 5, 2021, June 28, 2024
- Parshat Korah: June 27, 2020, July 18, 2020, July 24, 2023, July 5, 2024
- Parshot Chukat-Balak: June 26, 2021, July 12, 2024
- Parshat Pinchas: July 11, 2020, July 11, 2020 - Part 2, July 2, 2021, July 3, 2021, July 22, 2022, July 23, 2022
- Parshot Matot-Masei: July 18, 2020, July 18, 2020 - Part 2, July 10, 2021, July 30, 2022
D'varim-Deuteronomy
- Parshat D'varim: July 25, 2020, July 25, 2020 - Part 2, July 17, 2021, August 6, 2022
- Parshat Va'et'hanan: Aug. 1, 2020, July 24, 2021, August 12, 2022, August 13, 2022,
- Parshat Eikev: Aug. 8, 2020, July 31, 2021, August 19, 2022, August 20, 2022
- Parshat Re'eh: August 7, 2021
- Parshat Shoftim: September 7, 2019, Aug. 22, 2020, August 14, 2021, August 14, 2021 - Part 2, September 3, 2022
- Parshat Ki Teitzei: Aug. 29, 2020, August 20, 2021
- Parshat Ki Tavo: Sept. 5, 2020, Sept. 5, 2020 - Part 2, August 28, 2021, September 17, 2022
- Parshot Nitzavim-Vayeilech: Sept. 11, 2021, September 24, 2022
- Parshat Ha'Azinu: Sept. 26, 2020
- Parshat Haberakhah
Rosh HaShanah: Sept. 19, 2020, Sept. 19, 2020 - Part 2, Sept. 19, 2020 - Part 3, Sept. 20, 2020, Sept. 7, 2021, Sept. 8, 2021, Sept. 9, 2021, Sept. 26, 2022
Yom Kippur: Sept. 28, 2020, Sept. 16, 2021, October 5, 2022
Sukkot: Oct. 3, 2020 , Sept. 20, 2021
Passover: April 3, 2021, April 23, 2022, April 7, 2023, April 12, 2023 April 27, 2024
Rosh Hodesh: April 22, 2023
Today's Calendar
: 10:00am |
: 1:30pm |
Havdalah : 9:06pm |
Friday Night
: 7:30pm |
Candle Lighting : 7:53pm |
Shabbat Day
: 10:00am |
: 1:30pm |
Havdalah : 9:00pm |
This week's Torah portion is Parshat Pinchas
Shabbat, Jul 27 |
Candle Lighting
Shabbat, Jul 27, 7:58pm |
Havdalah
Motzei Shabbat, Jul 27, 9:06pm |
Shabbat Mevarchim
Shabbat, Aug 3 |