If you have never heard of Kazimierz Sakowicz, don’t worry; neither had I until three days ago. For the past ten days, together with 120 congregants and under the leadership of Rabbi Savenor, I participated in a congregational trip to St.
November 02, 2019
The Anxiety of Influence
Occasion(s) / Noah
If there is one phrase associated with Harold Bloom, who passed away last month at the age of 89, it is “the anxiety of influence.” Born in the Bronx to an Orthodox Jewish household, Bloom went on to become the most prodigious literary critic of the twentieth century.
October 26, 2019
#OneYearLater
Occasion(s) / B’reishit
On this Shabbat B’reishit, this sabbath of creation, our Torah reading describes God placing a fiery ever-turning sword at the entrance of the Garden of Eden to guard and protect the Tree of Life.
October 19, 2019
Jonah's Sukkah
Occasion(s) / Sukkot
When I was growing up in Los Angeles, there were two things my family always did without fail when we came home from synagogue at the end of Yom Kippur. First, obviously, we broke the fast with lox and bagels.
October 14, 2019
Builders
Occasion(s) / Sukkot
In the history of collaborative friendships – Sherlock Holmes and Watson, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, Bruce Springsteen and Clarence Clemons – in the category of Modern Jewish Thought, first among equals is the friendship between Martin Buber and Franz Rosenzweig.
October 09, 2019
The Parochet
Occasion(s) / Yom Kippur, Yizkor
This summer marked the seventieth anniversary of the reinterment of Theodor Herzl in Israel. Herzl, the founder of political Zionism, died in 1904 at the age of forty-four.
October 08, 2019
Do a Mitzvah!
Occasion(s) / Yom Kippur, Kol Nidrei
In retrospect . . . those college students . . . they never stood a chance.
September 30, 2019
If Not Now, Then When?
Occasion(s) / Rosh Hashanah
Let me tell you, it’s never been easy to be the rabbi of Park Avenue Synagogue, beginning with our founding rabbi, Edward Benjamin Morris Browne.
September 29, 2019
Angels in Hardhats
Occasion(s) / Rosh Hashanah
If our synagogue’s present construction serves as any indication, then on that first Shabbat of Creation, when the good Lord stepped back to behold the divine handiwork, the wi-fi was nowhere near close to being hooked up.
September 28, 2019
Say It Ain't So, Joe
Occasion(s) / Nitzavim
To the degree that American sports culture bears the stain of an original sin, this month marks the one hundredth anniversary of the felonious offense.