Sermons

What lessons does the Exodus offer to our country and to us? Rabbi Cosgrove proposes five principles that can guide us as we seek to emerge from today’s narrow places.

Calling the domestic terrorist attack on the Capitol no surprise, Rabbi Cosgrove argues that as with Pharaoh's Egypt, the degradation of our society occurs incrementally and with the complicity of many. Reversing it will require that we take a stand to denounce hatred and injustice.

Rabbi Cosgrove reminds us that since Joseph in Egypt, Jews have found the strength to form imagined community and make spiritual connections even when we are physically separated. We must reach out to others, reminding them and ourselves that we are never alone.

Do you believe in miracles? As we approach Hanukkah, the holiday of miracles, Rabbi Cosgrove teaches that we need not believe in the supernatural in order to appreciate the miraculous in the mundane.

As Thanksgiving approaches, Rabbi Cosgrove explores the subject of sibling relations by way of the most intense and painful sibling rivalry of the Bible – Jacob and Esau. He urges us to invest in the blessing of siblings and to express gratitude for their presence in our lives.

In posing “the Sancho question,” Rabbi Cosgrove considers how the response of our political leaders and our own responses to the recent election bear on the health of our democracy and the strength of our country.

Rabbi Cosgrove reminds us that at moments of joy and sorrow, gam zeh ya·avor, this too shall pass. We can find strength and sorrow in the realization that no single moment totally defines us and we should always work for things to be different in the future.

Rabbi Cosgrove encourages us to appreciate Yizkor of Shemini Atzeret as a moment to linger with our memories of loved ones and to find guidance for stepping into the new year inspired by their values.

Introducing Geshem, the ancient prayer for rain, Rabbi Cosgrove suggests that we pray for abundant rain not to sustain crops, but to wash out the crowded outdoor holiday gatherings that jeopardize public health and cast shame on the Jewish community.

Yizkor is an opportunity for gratitude and love along with sadness.