To view the Sermon, click here As a parent with young children, if an animated movie is released with enough fanfare then there is a strong likelihood that I’m going to be forced to watch it at some point. There have been many of these movies that I’ve enjoyed and even returned to with my Continue Reading »
To view the sermon – click here I remember my anxiety the first time that I went to the American Embassy in London. The year was 2006 and I was eagerly awaiting a student visa so that I would be able to continue my rabbinic studies at Hebrew Union College in Los Angeles. And if Continue Reading »
(This Op Ed originally appeared in the MetroWest Daily News on 3/16/25 – https://www.metrowestdailynews.com/story/opinion/columns/2025/03/15/wayland-rabbi-condeming-antisemitism-specify-the-act-swastika-wayland-ma-opinion/82358700007/) On Wednesday morning, while in a therapy session (because there’s a lot at the moment), my phone started to ding – a swastika had been graffitied in Wayland, the town in which our Temple is located. I continued the conversation because Continue Reading »
To view the sermon – click here A baby being comforted by its mother on our flight back from London. A baby sitting in a shopping cart, being pushed around Trader Joe’s. A baby on the zoom screen, while celebrating a Jewish life cycle moment. Each time I had the same reaction. Each time all Continue Reading »
(This sermon was delivered at the Vilna Shul, Boston, on November 15th, 2024) In the third period of Colin Ryan’s first day in Middle School the teacher wanted to do a “getting to know you exercise”, and so she had the students fill out a questionnaire. Assuming that the answers would be private Colin felt Continue Reading »
I was talking to my friend, colleague, and mentor Rabbi Irwin Zeplowitz on Wednesday. He shared with me the following: What’s the difference between a Jewish pessimist and a Jewish optimist? The Jewish pessimist says, “Things can’t possibly get any worse.” The Jewish optimist says: “Sure they can!” As we gather together in this community, Continue Reading »
Yom Kippur Yizkor Sermon 2024 Rabbi Lisa Eiduson Temple Shir Tikva Wayland MA Writer Jesse Wegman tells this story: “Off Route 6 on Cape Cod, a few miles in from the bay near Yarmouth, Mass., there hides a giant ancient English weeping beech tree. The tree is so big that it has its own parking Continue Reading »
Hineh mah tov u-mah nayim shevet achim gam yachad. It is so good to be together. For me, this is an experience of reunion with so many of you, relationships stretching back close to 40 years. We shared so many joys, sad moments. We dreamed of building a Jewish community. Our hope has been realized. Continue Reading »
The night before I went to sleep-away camp for the first time, I threw a fit. I don’t think tantrum even does it justice. I cried, I screamed, I railed at my parents for having the audacity to spend thousands of dollars so that I could spend two weeks away with my friends. This continued Continue Reading »
A few weeks ago, I sat before a man who, in the company of strangers, sat with his head bowed and his hands open in his lap. He was a white man in his 60s with cropped grey hair – wore an ironed shirt and a tie. He spoke plainly and slowly, saying “I know Continue Reading »