“The Census in the Wilderness: Making People Count” May 31, 2025 ~ 4 Sivan 5785 Parashat Bamidbar Rabbi Lisa Eiduson ~ Temple Shir Tikva ~ Wayland MA Brittany Hunter writes: “On a warm day in June 1892, Homer Plessy, a 30-year-old shoemaker from New Orleans, walked up to the ticket counter and bought a Continue Reading »
I grew up believing that unfortunate events had to be whispered, especially in the presence of my grandparents. I could never understand why, mid-sentence, their voices would suddenly lower. “She had a car accident.” “He was diagnosed with cancer.” “They are getting divorced.” It felt like an unspoken rule: misfortunes simply could not be voiced Continue Reading »
https://youtu.be/CU1xdFGGEOk Herman J. Blumberg, Rabbi Emeritus Temple Shir Tikva Wayland, MA May 16. 2025 1.(Riga Family) How did it happen that I stand here this day, the grandson of an orthodox, Yiddish speaking, modest Jewish family from a rural village near Riga, Latvia? How did it come to be that the pudgy kid Continue Reading »
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 »