Sermons by Rabbi Cosgrove

2025 Sermons

  • What Makes a Leader (January 18, 2025)
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    What are the qualities of a leader? Looking to the examples of both Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Moses, Rabbi Cosgrove teaches that a great leader is one who stands up for righteousness while honoring the sentiments of opposing factions who do not agree on what is the truth.

  • An Empathy Deficit (January 11, 2025)
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    After participating in a mission to Israel for parents and their Gen Z children seeking to gain a common language for discussing the impasse between Israelis and Palestinians, Rabbi Cosgrove urges us to realize that no resolution is possible without empathy for the other side.

  • Shoulder to Shoulder (February 8, 2025)
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    It is tempting to see things as black or white, right or wrong, good or bad. Rabbi Cosgrove reminds us that reality is not so neat. He urges us to be generous in standing together as we deal with the messiness of conflicting truths.

2024 Sermons

A playlist of sermons by Rabbi Cosgrove are also available here. 

  • Don't Plant A Flag (December 14, 2024)
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    What does it mean to celebrate victory by planting a flag? Rabbi Cosgrove cautions that true victory includes respecting the dignity of our opponents and that only when we refrain from provoking and demeaning our adversaries can we hope for a permanent, peaceful resolution of conflict.

  • Our American Stories (November 23, 2024)
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    What is your American story? Rabbi Cosgrove offers four questions to guide conversations at the Thanksgiving table.

  • Looking Long (November 9, 2024)
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    Following last week’s election, you may feel crushed and afraid or you may feel relieved and grateful. Rabbi Cosgrove counsels that whatever our reaction, each of us must move forward, working to realize our ideals with respect for those whose reactions differ from our own.

  • Hospitality of The Heart: In Memory of Paul Mendes-Flohr, z”l (October 26, 2024)
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    In tribute to his late teacher, Professor Paul Mendes-Flohr, z”l, Rabbi Cosgrove teaches that welcoming others, especially those who are different from us or whose ideas differ from our own, is the core lesson of the Torah and essential to healing our world.

  • Lt. Nathan Baskind, z"l (October 12, 2024)
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    Can you imagine peace between sworn enemies? Through the story of how Jews and former Nazis cooperated to find and reinter the remains of an American Jewish soldier buried in a German mass grave, Rabbi Cosgrove offers hope that the enmities of our day may also be resolved someday.  

  • Shattered Vessels (October 12, 2024)
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    What happens after a fragile vessel shatters? Rabbi Cosgrove teaches that the divine light of our loved ones remains even after they are no longer present, and especially at Yizkor, we can still gather their sparks. 

  • Pardon Me (October 5, 2024)
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    Are you carrying any grudges? Regretting how you’ve treated someone? Rabbi Cosgrove urges us to forgive the shortcomings of others as we hope God will forgive our shortcomings, to make apologies and accept apologies so that we can begin the new year free of past bitterness.

  • A Time of Testing (October 3, 2024)
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    Do you have hope for the future? Rabbi Cosgrove teaches that all of Jewish history has been a series of trials and tests, and it is hope that has sustained the Jewish people throughout. To guarantee the Jewish future, we must channel our hope into living vibrant Jewish lives.

  • Entering a Synagogue (October 2, 2024)
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    What do we seek when entering a synagogue? By way of a visit to his grandfather’s synagogue, Rabbi Cosgrove teaches that we hope to experience gratitude for the people and values that have shaped us and to dedicate ourselves to becoming even better versions of ourselves.  

  • The Pull of the Land (September 28, 2024)
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    In good times and bad, for Israelis and for American Jews, Jewish identity is tied to our connection to the Land. Rabbi Cosgrove explains how the pull of Israel situates Jewish identity and lays bare the challenge of living outside Israel while always feeling that one belongs there.

  • Today and the Day After (September 21, 2024)
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    Throughout history, hope in the future has been essential to Jewish survival. Rabbi Cosgrove urges that despite our weariness and despair over the continuing war in the Middle East, we must envision and plan for a future of peaceful coexistence between Israel and its neighbors.

  • The Shards we Carry (June 13, 2024)
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    Is there any getting over grief? Rabbi Cosgrove suggests that just as the Israelites carried the shards of the broken tablets of the covenant, so too, we carry our losses and yet, move forward.

  • Double V (June 1, 2024)
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    What is Double V? Recalling the campaign during WWII for victory against fascism on the battlefield and victory against racism on the homefront, Rabbi Cosgrove calls for a Double V campaign for Israel, for victory against Hamas and for the democratic values that are intrinsic to the state.

  • Time to Engage (May 18, 2024)
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    What is your response to the anti-Israel protests on college campuses?

  • A Free People in Our Land (May 11, 2024)
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    Six months after October 7, are you expecting seder guests with conflicted and conflicting views?



  • A Seder of Vigilance and Empathy (April 20,2024)
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  • Let's Dialogue (March 30, 2024)
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    Can we talk? After a recent experience on campus, Rabbi Cosgrove regrets that honest dialogue between people of differing views is prevented by antagonists who would rather play “gotcha” than take part in challenging and vulnerable conversation. 

  • For Such a Time As This (March 9, 2024)
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    Is the story of Esther just a comedic fantasy or is it a parable for our own times? Rabbi Cosgrove finds a lesson in the Megillah for how we can understand our place in society and our responsibility to live joyfully as proud, committed Jews.

  • The Day After (March 2, 2024)
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    Although Israel remains traumatized by the terror of October 7, the hostages, and the ongoing war, there is talk of “the day after.” Rabbi Cosgrove examines the arguments for and against  a two-state solution and offers his vision for a hopeful path forward.

  • Breathe... and Breathe Again (February 10, 2024)
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    As the Gaza war continues, how do you respond to people whose views on what should happen next in the conflict differ from your own? Rabbi Cosgrove counsels that it is essential to assume positive intent on the part of others and to ask thought-provoking questions to promote understanding. 

  • WWMLKS? (January 13, 2024)
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    What would MLK say? We cannot know, but based on his writings, Rabbi Cosgrove projects what MLK might say about October 7, about the Israel-Hamas conflict, about Black-Jewish relations, and more.

  • Go Blue!!! (January 6, 2024)
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    How is being Jewish akin to being a Michigan Wolverine? Rabbi Cosgrove points to the pull of pride in belonging and the push of outside hostility that unite a group. As we confront the hostility unleashed on October 7, we must also retain our joy in living a Jewish life. 

2023 Sermons

A playlist of sermons by Rabbi Cosgrove are also available here. 

  • Rabbi Dr. David Ellenson, z"l (December 16, 2023)
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    How should a Jewish majority apply Jewish law and its principles in a sovereign Jewish state in the modern world? Rabbi Cosgrove honors the memory of his friend and teacher Rabbi David Ellenson, z”l, by introducing three of his articles that address this critical question.

  • Rattled, Raw, and Resilient (December 9, 2023)
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    What are you doing now to support Israel? Rabbi Cosgrove reflects on last week’s PAS mission to Israel, emphasizing the overwhelming solidarity of Israelis in caring for survivors of the October 7th attacks, advocating for the hostages, and supporting the soldiers.

  • A Call to Action (November 18, 2023)
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    What are you doing for Israel? Recalling the dramatic and united efforts of American Jewry to assist pre-State Israel, Rabbi Cosgrove calls on us to be united and unflagging in stepping up on all fronts to support Israel in the current war. 

  • Coping and Hoping (November 11, 2023)
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    How do we move forward after a grievous loss? Recognizing that we have passed sh’loshim, thirty days since the horrendous attacks of October 7, Rabbi Cosgrove turns to our founding father Abraham’s family for a model of how even deeply estranged siblings can work toward a common future.

  • The Great Awakening (October 28, 2023)
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    Antisemitism? Here? Now? Rabbi Cosgrove teaches that the aftermath of October 7 has revealed not only verbal and physical attacks, but a “higher antisemitism” – a societal attitude that Jewish lives don’t matter.

  • Israel's Just War (October 21, 2023)
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    Is Israel fighting a just war? Rabbi Cosgrove reviews the Jewish laws of war to provide us with a vocabulary for understanding and defending Israel’s response to the Hamas terror attack of October 7. 

  • Moral Clarity (October 14, 2023)
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    Is there any justification for murder? Rabbi Cosgrove teaches that wanton killing and torture are pure evil. He calls for us to support the ADL, to condemn the acts of Hamas as terrorism and to insist that the thought leaders in our communities do the same. 

  • To Save a Life (October 13, 2023)
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    Following the terrorist rampage in Israel last week, the eyes of history are upon us. Rabbi Cosgrove calls on us to support Israel with dollars to meet the urgent needs of the moment and for the sake of pikuach nefesh, saving lives, to make donations even on Shabbat.

  • Keep Moving (September 25, 2023)
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    Rabbi Cosgrove Ne'ilah sermon.

  • Israel at War... with Itself (September 25, 2023)
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    Fifty years after the Yom Kippur War Israel again stands at a tipping point, its existence as a Jewish and democratic state threatened not by outside enemies but by deeply rooted internal tensions. Rabbi Cosgrove calls for a Zionism that espouses both self-defense and liberal values.  

  • Judgement and Mercy (September 25, 2023)
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    At the moment of Yizkor, what do we remember most about our loved ones? By way of the story of Judge Irving Kaufman, Rabbi Cosgrove challenges us to forgive our own foibles and frailties, to live in the present as our best selves, and to remember the best of others.

  • Return or Renewal (September 23, 2023)
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    Is teshuvah, repentance, about return or renewal? Reflecting on his new “empty nester” status, Rabbi Cosgrove explains how renewal and return are both part of finding our best selves.

  • Missing Pieces (September 16, 2023)
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    What did the late Rabbi Harold Kushner mean when he said, “We’re more complete if we’re incomplete”? Rabbi Cosgrove explores how we may understand loss and imperfections in our lives. 

  • Be a Guest (June 10, 2023)
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    Are you a good guest? Rabbi Cosgrove reminds us that being a good guest is not only about how we behave at our friends’ homes, but also how we move through the world, recognizing that we are passing through and that we owe courtesy to others and care to the earth.

  • A Father's Blessing (June 3, 2023)
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    What’s in a blessing? Reflecting on his own Friday night childhood blessings and the imminent high school graduation of his youngest son, Rabbi Cosgrove teaches us the value of every moment and every person.

  • Facing History (May 20, 2023)
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    In contrast to the first three books of the Bible, the book of B’midbar recounts the failures of the Israelites and their leaders.

  • Teens: A Mental Health Emergency (May 13, 2023)
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    Our country and our community are seeing an unprecedented mental health crisis among our youth. Rabbi Cosgrove counsels that every one of us has a role in making the young people in our lives feel seen and helping them find their way to mental stability.

  • Love Your Neighbor as Yourself (April 29, 2023)
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    What does it mean to love your neighbor as yourself? Exploring the central verse of the Torah, Rabbi Cosgrove shares an unexpected interpretation that teaches us how to repair relationships and make ourselves whole.

  • To a Non-ZIonist Gen Z-er (April 23, 2023)
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    How should we respond to a non-Zionist Gen Z-er? Responding to a young person’s rejection of Zionism, Rabbi Cosgrove engages with the question in all its complexity. 

  • Take Me Out to the Seder (April 6, 2023)
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    Baseball games and the Passover seder are both harbingers of spring. Rabbi Cosgrove explores what else these two rites have in common and what we can learn from cherishing them both. 

  • The Story of Us (April 1, 2024)
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    The Haggadah gives us the opportunity to overlay our own stories onto the shared template of our people’s foundational narrative. Rabbi Cosgrove urges us to open our seders to challenging questions and to accept conflicting answers, understanding that there can be unity with diversity. 

  • Nightmare Dressed Like a Daydream (March 4, 2023)
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    Purim is not simply playful, and the megillah is not all merry. Rabbi Cosgrove uncovers the dark side of the tale of Esther and how the story has been turned around to justify violent acts. At this fraught time, we pray for a peaceful Purim.

  • Fearless (February 4, 2023)
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    So you think you know the story of the Exodus? Rabbi Cosgrove teaches an alternate version of the story that credits our people’s liberation not to signs and wonders but to the courageous acts of righteous women. 

  • Invisible String (January 21, 2023)
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    How do we support Israel when we object to the actions of its government? Rabbi Cosgrove enjoins us that our support is, if anything, more essential now than ever. We must uphold and assist ventures that work toward establishing an Israel that reflects our values.

  • Heschel (January 14, 2023)
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    How does the legacy of Heschel speak to us today? On the 50th yahrtzeit of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, Rabbi Cosgrove calls upon us to honor his values and to do our share to redeem the world.

2022 Sermons

A playlist of sermons by Rabbi Cosgrove are also available here. 

  • Kahane Lives (December 17, 2022)
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    How will we react to the seismic rightward shift in the Israeli government following last month’s election? Rabbi Cosgrove enjoins us that while our love and support of Israel must not waver, we must openly discuss our concerns for sake of the future unity of the Jewish people.

  • Intermarriage Rising (November 19, 2022)
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    Given the fact of interfaith marriages, what is the role and responsibility of the rabbi and the synagogue? Rabbi Cosgrove enjoins interfaith couples to learn about Judaism together and to take responsibility for their Jewish future.

  • Kanye and Kyrie (November 5, 2022)
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    Why should we care about the antisemitic tweets from Kanye, Kyrie, and others? Rabbi Cosgrove explains that hate-filled rhetoric always leads to violence and calls on us to fight antisemitism by every means we have available.

  • Would've, Could've, Should've (October 29, 2022)
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    Is it good to regret? The Hebrew word naham can mean to regret, to repent, and also to comfort. Rabbi Cosgrove explains how the relationship between these apparently contradictory meanings allows us to learn and to benefit from our mistakes.

  • The Last Letter (October 17, 2022)
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    The Soviet author Vasily Grossman imagined a final letter from his mother before her death in the Berdichev Ghetto; he also continued writing to her after her death. Rabbi Cosgrove invites us to imagine the letters our loved ones might have written to us and what we would write ourselves.

  • Kissinger on Moses (October 8, 2022)
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    Drawing parallels between Moses and successful modern leaders, Rabbi Cosgrove finds that Moses exemplifies all the qualities of a great leader, especially the ultimate measure of success: that one’s values endure far beyond one’s own lifetime.

  • Postcards (October 5, 2022)
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    The moment of Yizkor makes us aware of the finite and indefinite length of our lives. Rabbi Cosgrove encourages us not only to remember our debts to those who have gone before but also to recognize our responsibility to those who will follow us and will, in time, remember us.

  • To Honor and Revere (October 4, 2022)
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    While we hope for long life, we fear the inevitable losses of old age; most of all, we fear becoming irrelevant. Rabbi Cosgrove charges us with revering our elders, not only by caring for their physical and social needs, but above all, by maintaining their values in our own lives.

  • Herzl and Me (September 26, 2022)
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    In an imagined conversation with the founding father of Zionism, Rabbi Cosgrove assesses the accomplishments, the aspirations, and the complexities of the Jewish state and provides a charge for us all to create strong Jewish identities. 

  • The Truths We Hold Dear (September 17, 2022)
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    The stories we tell ourselves reflect our personal realities and desired self-images. Rabbi Cosgrove urges us to sit down with each other in these weeks leading to the High Holidays and to listen to each other’s stories with an aim to restoring understanding.

  • Lost and Found (September 10, 2022)
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    Rabbi Cosgrove suggests that while the Torah lists detailed rules for returning lost property, the deeper meaning of this concern may be about repairing lost relationships and restoring our souls.

  • Keeping Pace (June 11, 2022)
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    Graduation season reminds us that time moves forward inexorably. Rabbi Cosgrove teaches that even though it is human nature to resist change, we live best when we move forward with openness to becoming our best selves in whatever circumstances the future brings.

  • Rights and Obligations (June 4, 2022)
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    The story of Ruth, read on Shavuot, demonstrates the value of putting others’ needs above our own. Rabbi Cosgrove reminds us that our Jewish tradition teaches that we are not free to do whatever we please, but that living in society requires us to accept limits on our freedom.

  • Holy Living (May 7, 2022)
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    What defines a life of k’dushah, of holiness? Responding to that ages-old question, Rabbi Cosgrove finds that a life of holiness includes both observance of ritual detail and commitment to ethical behavior, pride in the distinctions that set Jews apart and responsibility to all humanity.

  • Holocaust Memory (April 30, 2022)
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    How shall we remember the Holocaust? Rabbi Cosgrove teaches us both the pitfalls of remembrance and that memory should inspire us to live meaningful Jewish lives and to respond compassionately to present-day suffering of others.  

  • To Sign or Not To Sign (April 16, 2022)
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    How do we show our loyalty to the Jewish state? Rabbi Cosgrove explores the reasons to sign or not to sign a recent rabbinic letter regarding the question of funding right-wing Israeli organizations. 

  • The Pipeline Problem (April 2, 2022)
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    The future of the Jewish community is threatened by a shortage of clergy, with not enough people choosing to become rabbis and too few rabbis choosing to serve congregations. We all have a role in addressing this pipeline problem.

  • Heartbreaking, Inspiring, and Complicated (March 19, 2022)
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    Rabbi Cosgrove describes the heartbreaking, inspiring, and complicated moments of his recent trip to the Poland-Ukraine border.  While acknowledging the complexity of the situation, he reminds us that we must also do whatever we can to provide relief.

  • Our Esther Moment (March 5, 2022)
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    The story of Esther hangs on the question of whether to reveal one’s identity in public no matter the consequences. In light of current events, Rabbi Cosgrove urges us to stand up for our values and to commemorate Purim with heroic generosity to aid the Jews, and all the people, of Ukraine.

  • Amnesty, Israel, Apartheid (February 5, 2022)
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    Rejecting the assertions of the recent Amnesty International report on Israel and Palestine, Rabbi Cosgrove envisions the kind of report that could bring the sides closer, not further apart.

  • Teyku (January 22, 2022)
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    The Talmud teaches that irreconcilable differences of opinion will be resolved when Elijah the Prophet arrives to announce the Messianic age. Noting the toxic divides of our age, Rabbi Cosgrove teaches that we must learn to hear opinions that differ from our own.

  • Stride Toward Freedom (January 15, 2022)
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    When do we peak in our life work? Reflecting on the life of Martin Luther King, Rabbi Cosgrove suggests we are all ever at the shores of the sea taking a stride toward opening the next vital chapter of our lives.  

2021 Sermons

A playlist of sermons by Rabbi Cosgrove are also available here. 

  • Father and Son (December 4, 2021)
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    Why didn’t Joseph write home to his father? Rabbi Cosgrove reviews the possible answers, suggesting that when we are open to hearing the perspectives of others, we can pass blessings from one generation to the next.

  • Gender, Intermarriage, and Jewish Identity (November 20, 2021)
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    Why are we more confident that a child born to an intermarried Jewish woman will identify Jewishly more readily than the child of an intermarried Jewish man?

  • Parents Weekend (November 6, 2021)
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    What makes for successful parenting? Rabbi Cosgrove teaches that unlike the example set by our biblical ancestors, parents can love children equally and infinitely, but differently.

  • Rebel Without a Cause (October 16, 2021)
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    How do you show that you are a Jew? Rabbi Cosgrove reminds us that we are heirs to Abraham, the iconoclast founder of our people. We must be true to that heritage and proudly assert our Jewish identity.

  • Purple Rain (October 2, 2021)
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    What is the theme of our people’s story? As we open the Torah to read once again about the beginning of humanity, Rabbi Cosgrove teaches that our history is a story of persistence in response to setbacks. Faith in the future and in ourselves is as essential today as ever.

  • Why Do We Say Kaddish? (September 28, 2021)
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    For whom do we recite Kaddish? Rabbi Cosgrove introduces and explains a variety of answers from through the ages and concludes that beyond all, when we say Kaddish, we form a link in the chain linking one generation to the next.

  • After the Fast (September 18, 2021)
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    Where do we go from Yom Kippur? Rabbi Cosgrove reminds us that resetting our moral compass is not a “one-and-done” task, but a lifelong challenge that we meet by a day-after-day commitment toward becoming our aspirational selves.

  • Remember . . . For Life (September 10, 2021)
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    How should we remember the Holocaust? As we witness the passing of the last survivors, Rabbi Cosgrove urges that we must remember . . . for life.

  • The Blink of an Eye (September 7, 2021)
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    Given that our lives can be upended in an instant, Rabbi Cosgrove exhorts us to make every day count, taking on personal agency through teshuvah/repentance, tefillah/spiritual living, and tzedakah/righteous giving.

  • Apples for Rosh Hashanah (September 6, 2021)
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    What does eating apples and honey on Rosh Hashanah mean to you? Rabbi Cosgrove suggests several possible explanations to consider and discuss over the holidays.

  • From Pandemic to Purpose (June 19, 2021)
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    Are there any lessons that we should take with us when, please God, the pandemic is but a memory? Rabbi Cosgrove challenges us to appreciate our blessings, to pay attention to the problems that the pandemic has exposed, and to move forward with intention to live meaningful lives.

  • Fault Lines (June 5, 2021)
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    Returning from a rabbinic mission to Israel following the recent violence between Israelis and Palestinians, Rabbi Cosgrove delivers a mixed report of gloomy realities tempered by reasons for hope.

  • Showing Up for Israel (May 22, 2021)
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    What if we threw a rally for Israel and nobody showed up? Rabbi Cosgrove speaks to the battle for the soul of American Jewry and the continued importance of investing in Israel’s future and well-being.

  • Wipe Your Tears (May 8, 2021)
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    How do we come back from this past year’s tough times? Do we despair or do we respond with optimism that we can transcend our difficulties to craft a positive future? As Jews have done since the prophet Jeremiah, we can show resilience and choose the positive.

  • The Grammar of Jewish Living (May 1, 2021)
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    Does it matter if we are precise in our observance of mitzvot (commandments)? While always a balance between exactitude and right intention, Jewish living calls on us to be attentive to the sacred grammar of doing mitzvot.

  • To Life! (April 17, 2021)
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    How do we bring a person who has been isolated because of a dreadful disease back into community? How do we all reintegrate as a community after a year of isolation and disruption?

  • As Difficult as Splitting the Sea (April 6, 2021)
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    Can a miracle be difficult for God? Follow Rabbi Cosgrove into a sea of stories and interpretations as we discover how building a relationship is like making a miracle.

  • Kavod Shabbat in COVID (March 13, 2021)
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    May we break Shabbat in order to keep Shabbat? The tension between working to make Shabbat and resting to have Shabbat is as old as Shabbat itself. Looking back over our pandemic year, Rabbi Cosgrove questions how our use of technology will affect how we keep Shabbat in the future.  

  • Don't Make Me Choose (March 6, 2021)
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    Our Jewish lives or our support for the State of Israel? Rabbi Cosgrove reflects on the vituperative reaction of Israel’s ultra-Orthodox to last week’s Supreme Court decision regarding conversion and the uncomfortable choice faced by diaspora Jewry.

  • From Within or Without? Leadership Lessons from Esther (February 20, 2021)
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    Is it better to make change from the inside or outside? On our annual UJA Shabbat, Rabbi Cosgrove looks to the Megillah for two models of leadership that can guide our choices today.

  • We're No Angels - in Memory of Rabbi Dr. Abraham Twerski z"l (February 6, 2021)
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    In the face of sin and addictive behavior, how can Torah guide us to realize our best selves? The legacy of Rabbi Dr. Abraham Twerski, z”l, inspires us to take personal agency over our lives.

  • Exodus in America (January 23, 2021)
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    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.

  • No Surprise (January 9, 2021)
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    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.

2020 Sermons

A playlist of sermons by Rabbi Cosgrove are also available here. 

  • Never Alone (December 19, 2020)
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    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? (December 5, 2020)
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    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.

  • Oh, Brother! (November 1, 2020)
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    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.

  • The Sancho Question (November 14, 2020)
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    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.

  • This Too Shall Pass (October 31, 2020)
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    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.

  • Let It Rain (October 10, 2020)
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    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.

  • A Pause to Remember (October 10, 2020)
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    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.

  • Love in a Place of Loss (September 28, 2020)
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    Yizkor is an opportunity for gratitude and love along with sadness.

  • Ask Not (September 20, 2020)
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    Rabbi Cosgrove challenges us to step up to the ideal of Yom Kippur, to commit to acting to mend our world, our community, and our personal relationships. 

  • Let There Be Reconstruction (September 19, 2020)
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    Judaism has survived periods of calamity because visionary leaders have transformed Jewish life to accommodate changed circumstances.

  • A Treasury of Life (September 18, 2020)
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    The pandemic has contracted our horizons and cost us innumerable losses, but we can still find hope and meaning in what we do. Rabbi Cosgrove encourages us to find and create beauty and joy even within the smaller scale of our lives.

  • Ya Gotta Believe (September 12, 2020)
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    Rabbi Cosgrove finds parallels between the life of the incomparable Mets pitcher, Tom Seaver, and the message of the Torah reading: wherever we are today is not where we can be tomorrow. As we approach Rosh Hashanah, let us all act with strength and courage to make tomorrow a better day.

  • First Base on Race (July 11, 2020)
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    Recalling the friendship between baseball players Hank Greenberg and Jackie Robinson, Rabbi Cosgrove urges us all to examine our own internalized prejudices in order to reach first base in our struggle to check our biases and eliminate racism.

  • Speaking Privately (June 20, 2020)
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    Rabbi Cosgrove reminds us that public speech can change the world and also destroy it. Important as public protest may be, giving feedback privately will often forward our causes better than rash responses in social media.

  • That's My Bible (June 6, 2020)
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    Rabbi Cosgrove shows us how the Bible can provide inspiration, guidance, comfort, and even challenge, as we seek to respond to the systematic racism that infects our country.

  • To Begin Again (May 30, 2020)
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    At any Yizkor service, mourners are called on to stand together – separated in their grief. This year we are “together apart” more than ever.  Rabbi Cosgrove urges us to follow the examples of Ruth, Naomi, and Boaz, reaching beyond our own pain of loss to help ease the grief of others. 

  • Chancellor to Chancellor (May 16, 2020)
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    In honor of our annual “Seminary Shabbat,” Rabbi Cosgrove tracks the history of the American Jewish experience through the seven chancellors of the Seminary and raises the question of what sits on the docket of the soon-to-be-announced next chancellor. 

  • Dreams Deferred (May 9, 2020)
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    How do we respond to the loss of occasions and opportunities during the pandemic? Rabbi Cosgrove advises us how to acknowledge each other’s sorrow and be present for one another as we gather our strength to step into an uncertain future. 

  • Like I Told You, It's an Honor (May 2, 2020)
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    Rabbi Cosgrove describes serving as clergy during the past two months and how the COVID-19 pandemic has transformed the way families experience the death of a loved one and the Jewish rituals of burial and mourning.

  • The Life and Legacy of Waldemar M.W. Haffkine (April 25, 2020)
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    A sermon dedicated in honor of the medical professionals and researchers serving on the front lines of our public health crisis: Rabbi Cosgrove recounts the life and legacy of Dr. Waldemar Haffkine – revolutionary, life-saving epidemiologist, Zionist, and philanthropist.

  • On Leadership (April 18, 2020)
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    From Moses to MLK to our present lives, leadership is measured according to the degree to which we walk the walk and not just talk the talk.  Rabbi Cosgrove calls on each of us to strive to embody our highest ideals in order to mend our broken world.

  • Social Solidarity... Not Distancing (April 11, 2020)
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    Accept Rabbi Cosgrove’s challenge from his Shabbat Hol Hamoed Pesach sermon: For each of the 49 days between Passover and Shavuot, call or email someone to whom you might not otherwise reach out.

  • The Question of Suffering (April 10, 2020)
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    On the occasion of the seventieth anniversary of Rabbi Milton Steinberg’s passing, Rabbi Cosgrove draws on his predecessor’s writing to address the question of suffering.

  • The Next Right Thing (March 28, 2020)
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    We all risk decision fatigue as the public health crisis forces us to make one important choice after another with limited information.

  • Purim in the Time of the Coronavirus (March 7, 2020)
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    What can Purim teach us in the time of coronavirus?  Rabbi Cosgrove presents the story of Esther as a reminder that even when life feels like a lottery, we can all take agency and respond by moving the needle towards good – in our own lives and the lives of those around us.

  • Let There Be Disruption (February 29, 2020)
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    What can synagogues learn from Blockbuster and Kodak? Using the countercultural havurot of the 1960s as a case study, Rabbi Cosgrove explores models of innovative disruption, inviting us to be open-minded in imagining the future of our community.

  • Standing at Sinai (February 20, 2020)
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    In his sermon, “Standing at Sinai,” given at Temple Sinai in Los Angeles to honor his father at his “second Bar Mitzvah,” his 83rd birthday, Rabbi Cosgrove enacted the fifth commandment, honoring his father and mother by speaking of the influence their Judaism had on his own Jewish values and cho

  • Making Sense of our Moment (February 8, 2020)
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    For those of us trying to make sense of the challenges facing American Jewry in 2020 – antisemitism, anti-Zionism, BDS (boycotts, divestments and sanctions), intersectionality, and more – 1960 is as good a place to start as any.

  • Time to Step Up and March (January 4, 2020)
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    Aside from the out-of-town guests of this morning’s Bnei Mitzvah, whose travel plans may prevent them from joining tomorrow’s “No Hate.

2019 Sermons

A playlist of sermons by Rabbi Cosgrove are also available here. 

  • Bystanders and Upstanders (November 16, 2019)
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    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.

  • The Anxiety of Influence (November 2, 2019)
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    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.

  • #OneYearLater (October 26, 2019)
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    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.

  • Jonah's Sukkah (October 19, 2019)
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    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.

  • Builders (October 14, 2019)
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    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. 

  • The Parochet (October 9, 2019)
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    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.

  • Do a Mitzvah (October 8, 2019)
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    In retrospect . . . those college students . . . they never stood a chance.

  • If Not Now, Then When? (September 30, 2019)
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    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.

  • Angels in Hardhats (September 29, 2019)
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    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.

  • Say It Ain't So, Joe (September 28, 2019)
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    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.

  • Something to Say (September 7, 2019) 
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    Not once, not twice, not three times, but more times than I can count this past summer I was struck by the thought, “Thank God I am not preaching this Shabbat.” Summers at Park Avenue Synagogue, construction notwithstanding, are a delightfully quiet time.

  • A Sense of Decency (September 9, 2019)
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  • Eighteen Years Is Plenty (June 14, 2019)
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    Of all the emotions I have experienced these past two weeks as my oldest daughter graduated from high school – pride, nachas, wistful nostalgia, profound gratitude, and overwhelming love – the emotion that I did not count on and have felt most deeply is panic.

  • Oy (June 8, 2019)
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    Next time you enter the Metropolitan Museum of Art, keep going straight behind the information desk and continue beneath the stairs; pass the David plates to your right, and come into the Medieval Sculpture Hall.

  • You're Never Off The Court (May 31, 2019)
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    In 1919, when the great Irish poet William Butler Yeats penned what is perhaps his most famous poem, “The Second Coming,” he saw a world on the edge of collapse.

  • What We Talk About When We Talk About Israel (May 17, 2019)
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    Sometimes, the things we talk about are not really what we are talking about. It could be mundane: a spouse, let’s say, neglects to unload the dishwasher.

  • Twenty Years a Rabbi (May 10, 2019)
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    Sitting in the Rabbinical Assembly convention this past week in Montreal – I was reminded of a distinction my father made to me and my brothers growing up.

  • Messiah's Meal (April 26, 2019)
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    This afternoon, as most Jews are busy counting down the minutes until their first post-Passover bite of pizza, members of the Chabad community will be sitting down at thousands of tables across the world to participate in what is called Seudat HaMoshiach, the Messiah’s meal.

  • Isaac Mayer Wise (April 5, 2019)
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    Of all of Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise’s considerable gifts to consider on this week of his 200th birthday, perhaps the most legendary was his ability to take a right hook to the chin.

  • Why We Laugh (March 15, 2019)
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    Of all the traditions, customs, and comments surrounding this week’s festival of Purim, one of the most curious is found in the second chapter of Maimonides’s Laws of Megillah in his authoritative Mishneh Torah.

  • Varieties of Never Again (March 9, 2019)
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    As a deeply invested stakeholder in the condition of diaspora Jewry, I keep returning of late to the purported Chinese curse: “May you live in interesting times.” On the one hand, our present moment of blessing is without precedent.

  • Neither Early Nor Late (February 9, 2019)
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    “A story,” wrote the director, screenwriter, and film critic Jean Luc Goddard, “should have a beginning, a middle and an end, but not necessarily in that order.” What he meant, as evidenced by his own films, is that when it comes to the sequencing of a story in a movie or, for that matter, a book

  • The Great Schism (January 12, 2019)
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    If you have ever taught Hebrew School or been a student in a Hebrew school classroom, then you know that one of the great set inductions for a discussion of Jewish identity is the deceptively simple question: “Is Judaism a religion?” The immediate response from the class will often be a resoundin

  • Hardened Hearts (January 5, 2019)
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    Of all the interpretive riddles that have perplexed biblical commentators over the ages, none is more longstanding and insoluble than the matter of Pharaoh’s hardened heart.

2018 Sermons

A playlist of sermons by Rabbi Cosgrove are also available here. 

  • Hidden Goblets (December 15, 2018)
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    The conventional wisdom regarding this week’s Torah reading and its placement in the Joseph cycle is as follows:

  • One-Sixtieth (December 1, 2018)
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    Of all the questions connected to tomorrow night’s festival of Hanukkah, the seemingly most straightforward is “Why is Hanukkah eight nights?” The Talmud relates that having defeated their Greek oppressors, the Maccabees entered the Temple to rededicate it and found only a single cruse of oil, en

  • Excelsior! (November 15, 2018)
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    Like an archeologist unearthing a long-forgotten artifact, I ventured into the deepest corner of my apartment’s storage locker to unearth a treasure that has not been touched since we arrived ten years ago.

  • #PittsburghStrong (November 2, 2018)
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    Of all the gut-checking, gulp-inducing moments of this past week, the one I want to focus on this morning was, relatively speaking, rather modest.

  • Stand! (October 12, 2018)
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    More than the 19.8 seconds of lightning-fast speed, fifty years later, it is the ninety seconds of motionless and statuesque protest that we will remember this week. The date was October 16, 1968; the setting was the Olympic Games in Mexico City. The event was the 200-meter race.

  • A Time To Speak (September 28, 2018)
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    Long before present day political divides, first century rabbinic society was divided into two separate houses: the House of Hillel and the House of Shammai. As I mentioned over the High Holidays, their disputes ranged from matters ritual, ethical, and theological to the truly mundane.

  • Rabbi Dr. Aaron Panken, z"l (September 19, 2018)
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    Taking inspiration from his friend and colleague Rabbi Aaron Panken, z”l, Rabbi Cosgrove enjoins us to make the values of our loved ones meaningful in our own lives.

  • A Time to Embrace (September 18, 2018)
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    On the question of when one should or should not sit down with an adversary, September 1938 is as good – or bad – a date as any to begin the conversation.

  • A Sense of Decency (September 9, 2018)
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    There are people, explains the Talmud, who koneh olamo b’sha·ah ehat (Avodah Zarah 10b), who “acquire eternity in a moment,” and for Joseph Welch, that moment occurred on June 9, 1954. The context was a post-war America unnerved by fears of Communist influence and subversion.

  • Coming Home (September 8 2018)
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    Truth be told, Alaska was never on my bucket list of places to visit. I would have been just fine picking up the kids from summer camp on the West Coast, spending a few days with my family in LA, and returning to New York without ever leaving the “Lower 48.” But Debbie had other plans.

  • Standing Here This Day (September 7, 2018)
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    Professor Jack Wertheimer is a person whom I admire and respect.

  • What Was Missing from the Embassy Ceremonies (May 14, 2018)
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    Jerusalem — Sitting in the dedication ceremonies for the American embassy here on Monday, I was reminded of the Talmudic account of ancient Israel’s liberation from Egypt bondage. When the Israelites had crossed the sea to dry shore as the Egyptian army drowned in the sea behind, the angelic retinue began to sing God’s praise.

  • Climb Every Mountain (March 3, 2018)
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    For those of you visiting Park Avenue Synagogue for the first time, and for any regulars who do not read your synagogue emails or Bulletins, this morning is my final Shabbat prior to beginning a four-month sabbatical.

  • Oy Jerusalem (January 20, 2018)
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    On account of a bungled invitation, the Talmud teaches, Jerusalem was destroyed and the Jewish people exiled from their land.

  • Rabbi Neil Gillman, z"l (January 6, 2018)
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    It was with a heavy heart that I heard the news last month of the passing of Rabbi Neil Gillman at the age of 84. Rabbi Gillman was a profound thinker, prolific author, and preeminent theologian at the Jewish Theological Seminary, where I trained as a rabbi.

2017 Sermons

A playlist of sermons by Rabbi Cosgrove are also available here. 

  • Don't let the Light Go Out (December 9, 2017)
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    If there is a lesson to be had, and consolation to be found, in the upcoming festival of Hanukkah, which begins Tuesday night, it is that the challenges we face as American-Jews are not as new as may believe.

  • Survival or Renewal (November 11, 2017)
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    In every generation, Jews have openly wondered whether they would be the last Jewish generation to walk this earth. At the beginning of today’s Torah reading, Abraham’s wife, Sarah, the matriarch of our people, passes from this earth.

  • Time for a Jewish Reformation (October 27, 2017)
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    For diaspora Jews concerned with our relationship to the State of Israel, this Tuesday’s quincentenary of the Protestant Reformation provides a delicious opportunity to imagine tactical possibilities moving forward.

  • To Begin Again (October 13, 2017)
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    It is still too early, far too early, to distill the lyrical worldview of Tom Petty into a single statement.

  • Build Yourself A Hut (October 6, 2017)
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    This year marks the two-hundredth anniversary of the birth of one of the most important figures of the American literary canon, and, by a certain telling, the creator of one of the most important sukkahs ever built in America.

  • The Ring of Forgiveness (September 30, 2017)
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    The date was October 14, 2003; the location, Wrigley Field – specifically, Aisle 4, Row 8, Seat 113. The scene was the eighth inning of game six of the National League Championship Series, with the Chicago Cubs up three games to two against the Florida Marlins.

  • All That You Leave Behind (September 30, 2017)
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    “The Watch” is the name of an autobiographical tale told by Elie Wiesel in his 1965 book One Generation After. Wiesel shares the story of his first, and what would be his only, return to the town of his birth, Sighet, Transylvania, since the conclusion of World War II.

  • The Ring of Forgiveness (September 30, 2017)
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  • The Memories We Share (September 29, 2017)
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    This past year our community was honored to welcome the renowned author Malcolm Gladwell for a lecture, a visit that afforded me the opportunity to acquaint and reacquaint myself with his prolific and always insightful writing.

  • The Belly of the Whale (September 20, 2017)
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    Of all the works of God’s creation, perhaps the most curious and, for our purposes today, the most important, is described in the Zohar, our people’s foundational text of Jewish mysticism.

  • Jerusalem of Gold (June 2, 2017)
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    Perhaps the most important thing to say about the spring of 1967 is just how different the world was then than it is today. The memory of the Holocaust – the six million murdered at the hands of the Nazis while the world stood by watching – was a wound still fresh.

  • From Generation to Generation (September 19, 2017)
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    Two score, ten years, and six months ago, Malcolm Cosgrove was invited to Shabbat dinner. The setting was the London young professional Jewish scene: twenty-something transplants from the provinces gathering in each other’s homes for community, a home-cooked meal, maybe a shidduch.

  • The Story of My Life (September 8, 2017)
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    Back in the day, when I was a PhD student in Bible, I had the occasion to study the German theologian and scholar Gerhard von Rad.

  • Thinking Abundantly (June 9, 2017)
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    Before you lift your head off the pillow in the morning, before you get out of bed or use the washroom, even before you check your iPhone, you must, according to tradition, recite the words Modeh ani l’fanekha melekh hai v’kayam, she-hehezarta bi nishmati b’hemlah, rabbah emunatekha, “Th

  • Third Annual Leadership Workshop - Mission Alignment (May 23, 2017)
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    It is a fortuitous coincidence that tonight’s leadership development session is taking place in these days between Passover and Shavuot.

  • Judaism and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (May 20, 2017)
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    When I heard of the sad passing of Robert Pirsig last month at the age of eighty-eight, I decided to once again pick up my copy of his first and most famous book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, having not touched it since college.

  • For The Sake Of Zion (May 12, 2017)
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    Like baseball and apple pie, America’s protection of free speech sits at the heart of who we are as a nation. “Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press . .

  • Betwixt and Between (April 21, 2017)
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    Every season of the Jewish year brings with it a certain sentiment: renewal on Rosh Hashanah, repentance on Yom Kippur, playfulness on Purim.

  • One Little Goat (April 17, 2017)
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    For a rabbi to preach about the seder on the final day of Passover – a yizkor sermon no less – shows questionable judgment, to say the very least. Like candy corn purchased the day after Halloween, no matter how tasty it may be, its arrival is a little too late.

  • Alephs and Alphas (March 31, 2017)
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    For as long as my children have been able to sit at the Shabbat table, right after Kiddush and Ha-motzi we have played “Roses, Thorns, and Buds.” We go around the table, every child getting the chance to share their “rose” – the best part of their week gone by, their “thorn” – the worst part of t

  • Taking the Plunge (March 24, 2017)
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    Much has changed since our greatest generation was liberated from Egypt, but the challenges and opportunities that come with being an emancipated mixed multitude remain ours to address.

  • To Officiate Or Not To Officiate (March 11, 2017)
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    Because the session on intermarriage was exclusive to rabbis and off the record, I am not at liberty to discuss with you the nature of the deliberations that took place in Baltimore two weeks ago at the Rabbinical Assembly convention, the annual international meeting of Conservative rabbis.

  • The Company We Keep (March 4, 2017)
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    Ever since the Garden of Eden, human behavior has only been as good as the company we keep. “Did God really say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree of the garden?’” asked the serpent of Eve, a not-so-innocent question that prompted Eve to eat of the fruit and encourage Adam to do the same.

  • Principles, Not Politics (February 4, 2017)
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    Of all the reactions to my congregational letter in response to the President’s executive order on immigration, there is one that I have yet to hear.

  • Bring Them Close (January 14, 2017)
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    Two weeks ago I had the opportunity to speak at the Knesset in a caucus session on the subject of diaspora Jewry’s relationship with Israel.

  • Time to Double Down, Not Stand Down (January 8, 2017)
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    As a liberal Zionist, I have found myself of late returning to the so-called Chinese curse: “May you live in interesting times.” To be an ardent Zionist, to be attentive to the condition of the stranger in our midst, to believe in the two-state solution – these values are givens in my 

2016 Sermons

A playlist of sermons by Rabbi Cosgrove are also available here. 

  • Disaspora Jewry and Israel: Mending the Breach (December 27, 2016)
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    On Tuesday, December 27, 2016 Rabbi Cosgrove spoke at a conference on Israel-Diaspora relations, held at the Knesset in Jerusalem. Read his remarks below; the first paragraph of the English is a translation of the Hebrew.

  • To Speak or Not to Speak (December 10, 2016)
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    For those of us living on the alphabet street of American Jewish life, the intrigue of these weeks between the election and the inauguration has been due as much to what has been said as to what has not been said. Let us begin with the obvious.

  • Lost Sparks (December 3, 2016)
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    Last Sunday night I checked off of my bucket list the Chabad Kinus Sheluchim, the annual meeting of Chabad emissaries from around the world, over 4500 rabbis from 90 countries convening for what is considered the largest annual gathering of Jews in North America.

  • Power and Powerlessness in Central Europe (November 19, 2016)
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    Impressive as Budapest’s Dohany Street Synagogue may be, the most significant thing about it is not what you see, but what you don’t.

  • America, I Hardly Knew You (November 12, 2016)
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    When I awoke Wednesday morning to the news of the election of Donald Trump, the emotion I felt most profoundly – and expected least – was humility. The polls were so clear, the predictions so firm, the prognosticators so self-assured.

  • The (Honest) Truth About the Garden (October 28, 2016)
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    To this day, I can recall the precise circumstances of the last time I took a puff on a cigarette. It was over seventeen years ago when Debbie and I were in Paris on our honeymoon. We had spent the day walking the streets of the City of Lights, going from museum to museum.

  • Progress, Not Perfection (October 14, 2016)
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    Yankee fans may well remember game one of the 1998 World Series against the San Diego Padres. It was the bottom of the seventh and the score was tied 5-5. There were two outs, bases loaded, and Tino Martinez was at the plate for the Yankees. Two balls and two strikes.

  • New Light on Zion (October 2, 2016)
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    In retrospect, I don’t think any of us would have faulted him for keeping quiet. The year was 1916 and Louis Brandeis was nominated to be the first Jew on the Supreme Court. It would be a long and bruising confirmation battle.

  • Sweeter Than Honey (October 1, 2016)
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    Just shy of two weeks ago – September 21, to be precise – I sat in my kitchen late one night, laptop out, High Holiday sermon writing weighing heavily on my person. My children had long since gone to sleep, as had Debbie, and a predictable case of writer’s block set in.

  • The Netflix Generation (September 23, 2016)
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    When it comes to Bruce Springsteen, if I had to categorize my level of fandom, I would call myself “Conservadox,” firmly established on the traditional end of the spectrum. From the outset, let me clarify that I am by no means “frum,” overly zealous in my enthusiasm.

  • Speaking Freely (September 9, 2016)
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    Generally speaking, Jewish sources are a decidedly mixed bag when it comes to the question of free speech.

  • Wrestling with Israel (June 10, 2016)
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    As I woke up this past Tuesday to the news in Israel, I was reminded of the rabbinic legend explaining the origins of Rosh Hodesh, the Jewish observance of a new month.

  • Loving Rebuke (June 3, 2016)
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    Of all the unexpected bedfellows of biblical verse, perhaps the most surprising is the close proximity between the commandment to “love your neighbor,” and the obligation to “rebuke your kinsman.” In a small cluster of verses at the heart of what is called “the Holiness Code,” at the center of th

  • Against the Hyphen (May 20, 2016)
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    In May 1916, exactly one hundred years ago this month, Theodore Roosevelt delivered a speech on the subject of being an American:

  • Making the Old New and the New Sacred - PAS 134th Annual Meeting (May 17, 2016)
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    Last week I had the honor of delivering the first annual Dr. Byron Sherwin Memorial Lecture. Dr. Sherwin, who passed away about a year ago, was a mentor of mine in Chicago – a man without whom I would never have received my doctorate.

  • The Sunflower (April 29, 2016)
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    Much to my surprise, it was the image of a sunflower that entered my mind as I read Father Patrick Desbois’ book, The Holocaust by Bullets. In a narrative both horrifying and redemptive, Father Desbois, our speaker at this Wednesday evening’s Holocaust Day observance, relates his journey

  • Kitniyot and Kishkes (April 15, 2016)
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    My parents, as many of you know, hail from the United Kingdom – my father from Glasgow, Scotland, and my mother from Manchester, England.

  • In Search of Civility (April 1, 2016)
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    The most interesting thing to come out of last week’s AIPAC conference was not so much what was said in any one session, but what was said before and after the sessions. As in every election cycle, AIPAC issued invitations to all the leading presidential candidates.

  • The Test of Esther (March 19, 2016)
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    In generations to come, the elections of 2016 will be viewed as a historic flashpoint for the American Jewish community, due to what is and – perhaps more significantly – what is not happening.

  • Look Long, Act Now (March 12, 2016)
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    This morning’s Torah reading, Parashat P’kudei, was the last Torah reading that Rabbi Milton Steinberg lived to read. He died on March 20, 1950, having suffered from a long-term heart condition that ultimately took his life at the age of forty-six.

  • Renewing the Covenant (February 6, 2016)
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    One of the most gracious and memorable invitations ever extended to me was when Rabbi Dr. Eugene Borowitz, z”l, invited me to teach one of his classes at Hebrew Union College. Dr.

  • What Comes Next? (January 23, 2016)
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    At the risk of Monday-morning quarterbacking the greatest story ever told, there is one question that should have been asked in the fifteen chapters leading up to the liberation of the Israelites from Egypt, but unfortunately never was. It was not for lack of opportunity.

  • The Sons of the Fathers (January 9, 2016)
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    Thirty-six years strikes me as well beyond the statute of limitations on spoiler alerts, but if it isn’t, then this would be a good time to get up and leave the room.

2015 Sermons

A playlist of sermons by Rabbi Cosgrove are also available here. 

  • Sh'lihut (December 15, 2015)
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    I have to believe that the stark juxtaposition between the soaring heights of his early years and the depths to which he would fall in the years to come was not lost on Joseph.

  • Light One Candle (December 12, 2015)
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    Today, the sixth day of Hanukkah, I want to raise what is perhaps the most famous question asked about our Jewish festival of lights.

  • Friend and Foe (November 28, 2015)
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    For anyone who attended the University of Michigan in the early 1990s, there is one half of one basketball game that to this day remains exceptionally difficult to discuss openly. The year was 1992, and Michigan was playing the defending champs Duke in the NCAA national championship game.

  • Wandering Armeans (November 21, 2015)
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    More than any other people, the Jewish people know precisely when and where the Syrian refugee crisis began. Every year, at every Passover Seder table, every Jew recites the words arami oved avi.

  • These Things I Will Never Forget (October 31, 2015)
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    Jewish day school, Jewish studies in college, rabbinical school, a doctorate in the history of Judaism – whatever criticisms can be leveled against me as a rabbi, the accusation that I took shortcuts in my Jewish education is not one of them.

  • Far From the Tree (October 9, 2015)
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    Every parent, at one time or another, has observed the personal attributes or outward behaviors of their child and reflected either silently or out loud, “Oh, that’s me!” We bear witness to our children’s qualities and character, and whether biological or adopted, by nature or nurture, we know th

  • A Model Ministry (September 25, 2015)
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    It is not every day that a Jewish kid gets to sit at the right hand of the Holy Father. Yesterday was my once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to do so.

  • The Hyphen WIthin (September 22, 2015)
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    Nobody knows for certain where Sandy Koufax was on this day fifty years ago, but all of us know where he wasn’t. It was game one of the Dodgers-Twins World Series, and Koufax was due to pitch against Minnesota’s Mudcat Grant. The game did not go well for the Dodgers.

  • A House Divided (September 13, 2015)
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    “With horror, great sorrow and deep grief, the government of Israel announces the death of Prime Minister and Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin, murdered by an assassin, tonight in Tel Aviv. The government shall convene in one hour for a mourning session in Tel Aviv. May his memory be for a blessing.”

  • A House of Prayer for All People (September 12, 2015)
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    One of the oldest, and sweetest, and well-known tales of the High Holiday season is the story of a young Jewish boy, orphaned as a child and adopted into a warm-hearted gentile family. The boy knew himself to be Jewish, although he did not know exactly what that meant.

  • A Benchmark in the Breach (September 11, 2015)
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    This morning I want to talk to you about one of the foundational documents of the Jewish people. It is not the Ten Commandments, not the Sh’ma, and not the Israeli Declaration of Independence.

  • The Best Defense (June 5, 2015)
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    One year ago, in June of 2014, Park Avenue Synagogue hosted President Shimon Peres in his final farewell address to the American Jewish community.

  • The Image Within (May 22, 2015)
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    In relating the story of creation, the rabbis tell of God’s plan to create humanity in the divine image. Having heard God’s intent, the angels grew jealous and sought to foil God’s plan by hiding God’s image from humanity.

  • Two Worlds of Judaism (May 8, 2015)
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    As Israel’s governing coalition was cobbled together late Wednesday night, just two hours before deadline, I thought of Winston Churchill’s quip: “Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others.” Despite the fact that Prime Minister Netanyahu won a stunning thirty-seat victo

  • Destiny Knocking (April 17, 2015)
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    On April 15, 1956, which was Yom HaAtzma’ut, Israeli Independence Day, the outlook for the young State of Israel did not look good – not good at all.

  • Freedom's Journey (March 27, 2015)
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    When Generals Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant sat down together at Appomattox in April 1865, an exchange of their respective Seder plans was not high on their list of priorities.

  • The Hidden Question (March 21, 2015)
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    According to the Mishnah, today’s arrival of the Hebrew month of Nisan signals the ascension of the Kings of Israel.

  • European Jewry: Stay or Go? (February 21, 2015)
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    Our tradition teaches: Mishenikhnas Adar marbim b’simhah, when [the month of] Adar enters, one must increase joy. (Babylonian Talmud, Taanit 29a) For me, as I imagine for you, it has been a difficult commandment to fulfill as we greeted this new month with a sense of gloom.

  • A Time to Stand Down, Not Double Down (February 14, 2015)
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    Of late, when I think of Israel’s Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, I think of the opening scene of La Bohème. Puccini’s famed opera begins in the home of Marcello and Rudolfo as they seek to stave off the bitter cold of winter.

  • Rules for Rabbis (January 17, 2015)
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    On the 541st and, for that matter, final page of Sanford Horwitt’s biography of Saul Alinsky, Horwitt reveals the story that he believes is the defining moment in the life of one of our nation’s most provocative and impactful community organizers.

  • I Will Be What I Will Be (January 10, 2015)
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    It is, and will forever be, a humbling proposition to serve as a congregational rabbi in the wake of the life and legacy of Rabbi Harold Schulweis, of blessed memory. Rabbi Schulweis, the senior rabbi of Valley Beth Shalom in Southern California, passed away last month at age 89.

2014 Sermons

A playlist of sermons by Rabbi Cosgrove are also available here.

  • "Who is a Jew?" Revisited (January 11, 2014)
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    Generations from now, when the history of American Jewry is produced – please God even as new chapters are still being written – there will be a footnote, if not an entire chapter, on Adam Sandler.

  • Something to Talk About (January 18, 2014)
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    It is not often that the line at the salad bar launches a sermon – but for the purposes of this morning I need to set the scene.

  • "Why Synagogue?" (February 1, 2014)
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    The most thought provoking, most depressing – and for this room, most relevant – data to emerge from the recent studies of New York and American Jewry concerns the decline of synagogue life. According to the Pew Study, 31 percent of Jewish respondents claimed to belong to a synagogue.

  • It's Not About You (February 8, 2014)
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    No matter how humble Moses may have been, I have to believe that the opening verses of this week’s Torah reading hit him like a ton of bricks.

  • God Is Enough Sometimes (February 22, 2014)
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    In a commencement speech to the 2005 graduating class of Kenyon College, the late David Foster Wallace began his remarks with the following parable:

  • On Religious Leadership (March 1, 2014)
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    Goldstein was pulled over by the police one night around two in the morning. After checking over his ID and noting his advanced age, the policeman asked Goldstein exactly where he was headed at that time of night.

  • On Ritual Innovation (March 21, 2014)
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    It was this Sabbath, Shabbat Parah of 1922, that American Jewish history and arguably all of Jewish history changed forever, and in my opinion, for the better.

  • Strangers in a Land Not Their Own (April 11, 2014)
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    If the wicked child were sitting at the Global Planning Table of the Jewish People rather than at the Seder table, the response he would receive would be of a decidedly different and far more embracing nature. “What does this service mean to you?” the chutzpah-filled child asks.

  • Israel: Can't We All Just Get Along? (April 25, 2014)
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    Of the towering figures of twentieth century Jewry, few stood as tall as Rabbi Dr. Louis Finkelstein, z”l.

  • How Jewish Should the Jewish State Be? (May 9, 2014)
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    In the pantheon of great rabbinic debates, the controversy between the Ridbaz and Rav Kook on the issue of the heter mechirah may not rank in the top ten or even twenty.

  • Doing Jewish With Other Jews (May 16, 2014)
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    One of the most intriguing, intelligent and important articles written this year on the subject of Jewish identity came from a totally unanticipated and at least to me, unknown source.

  • Check Your Jewish Privilege (May 30, 2014)
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    Although the expression has been in use for twenty-five years, it was not until two weeks ago that I actually heard the phrase “check your privilege.” Coined by social justice activist Peggy McIntosh in a 1988 article called “Unpacking the Invisible Backpack,” the expression “check your privilege

  • What We Talk About When We Talk About Conversion (June 4, 2014)
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    In retrospect, Shavuot would have been a far more sensible time to deliver a sermon on the subject of conversion. “Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.

  • Two Leaders in One (June 6, 2014)
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    One of my great regrets of my years in Chicago is that I never took a class with Dr. Benjamin Sommer. When I was a doctoral student at the University of Chicago, Dr. Sommer was a professor of Bible on the other side of town at Northwestern University.

  • The Will to Believe (June 13, 2014)
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    Considering the events that followed his medical school graduation in 1869, it was neither evident nor imaginable that the career of William James would turn out the way it did.

  • Abnormal Evil (September 6, 2014)
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    Resting in a book review in this week’s New York Times is a question whose origins can be traced to the beginning of time and the inner reaches of the human soul.

  • Attitude of Gratitude (September 13, 2014)
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    I have no idea if Wharton Business School Professor Adam Grant is familiar with rabbinic literature, but I suspect the author of the bestselling book Give and Take would enjoy reading the fifth chapter of Pirkei Avot, The Ethics of the Fathers. Chapter 5, mishnah 10 states:

  • With God’s Love We Forgive (September 23, 2014)
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    Once upon a time, in a small shtetl in the Pale of Settlement, there lived two young women of marrying age. Two promising men from a neighboring village were identified, arrangements were made, and the town began to prepare for the upcoming double simcha.

  • The 615th Commandment (September 24, 2014)
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    Twenty years ago this fall, my cousins Jonathan, Benji, Michael, and Rafi took a trip that would change their lives forever. As many of you know, my Manchester-born mother and Glasgow-born father arrived in America shortly before I was born. My mother’s sister never left England.

  • As a Driven Leaf (October 3, 2014)
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    As a Driven Leaf stands as Rabbi Milton Steinberg’s most famous book, and arguably, the single most significant contribution to the literary canon of American Jewish theology.

  • The Revisitations of Yizkor (October 15, 2014)
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    Over the next twenty-four hours, as we celebrate the festival of Simhat Torah, you might ask yourself the following question: Why do the Jewish people have not one, but two holidays to celebrate Torah?

  • Timshel (October 18, 2014)
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    John Steinbeck may not be the most obvious place to begin a discussion on biblical philology and theology, but for the purposes of understanding the drama of the Garden of Eden, if not the human condition as a whole, it is as good a place as any.

  • Towers to the Heavens (October 24, 2014)
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    It is not without some irony that 432 Park Avenue, the tallest residential building in Manhattan – and, for that matter, the entire western hemisphere – reached its peak just in time for the story of Tower of Babel.

  • Viva La France (November 7, 2014)
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    As I sat this past Monday morning in the pews of the Grande Synagogue on Rue de la Victoire in Paris, I could not help but be overwhelmed by a sense of history. It was the first stop of a non-stop three-day UJA-Federation Solidarity Mission to Paris.

  • Choosing the Right Pond (November 22, 2014)
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    For those of you with two young children at your breakfast table, Cornell economist Robert H. Frank has just the experiment for you.

  • Where Do You Put Your Menorah? (December 20, 2014)
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    Joseph never had to ask himself where to place his menorah in the palace of Pharaoh, but if he had, my hunch is that its location would have been as inconspicuous as possible.

2013 Sermons

A playlist of sermons by Rabbi Cosgrove are also available here.

  • Blessed are the Introverts (January 5, 2013)
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    In this season of college admissions, I found myself speaking the other day with a congregational parent about the two very different worlds of campus life that I have experienced. I did my undergraduate work at the University of Michigan, a classic college town if there ever was one.

  • The Gen-Ex Connection (January 12, 2013)
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    If you want to understand Jewish theology, Jewish ethics and perhaps Judaism as a whole, a good place to start is Genesis, Chapter 1, Verse 27.

  • The Prophetic Imagination (January 19, 2013)
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    Only a person tone deaf to history could fail to appreciate the remarkable calendrical convergence taking place in our country this weekend.

  • Plastic Shmastic (February 9, 2013)
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    It is not difficult, not difficult at all, to identify the low point of my mission to Ethiopia last week. We arrived in Addis Ababa on Monday and took a commuter plane to Gondar, the regional airport closest to where the historic – and now last – remnant of the Ethiopian Jewish community lives.

  • A Heart of Many Rooms (February 16, 2013)
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    I do not know if Rabbi David Hartman ever spoke at Park Avenue Synagogue, but I do know that his Torah is taught here every day. Rabbi Hartman passed away at the age of 81 on Sunday in Jerusalem, following a long illness.

  • An Immodest Proposal (February 23, 2013)
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    Generally speaking, the festival of Purim is not meant to be the starting point for delicate discussions concerning Jewish practice and identity. It is a joyous holiday, celebrating Esther and Mordechai’s courage in the face of Haman’s wickedness.

  • The Search for Truth (March 2, 2013)
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    Yesh koneh olamo b’sha’ah ehat, “There are those,” explains the Talmud, “who acquire eternity in a single hour.” (Avodah Zarah 17a). For Pope Benedict XVI, now Pope Emeritus, formerly Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, that hour occurred on April 19, 2005.

  • It's About Time (March 15, 2013)
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    Before you take your first bite of matzah next week, ask yourself the following question: What is the matzah meant to symbolize?

  • Dew (March 25, 2013)
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    Nine times out of ten, there is a direct correlation between cantorial bravura and theological stakes on the table.

  • Imagining the Past (April 1, 2013)
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    Strangely, the lens of history can at one and the same time serve both to clarify and to blur our understanding of the past.

  • Warsaw Ghetto Uprising (April 5, 2013)
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    When you leave the synagogue today, pause to look at the bronze relief on the front façade of the building above the Madison Avenue entrance.

  • Regret and Hope (April 26, 2013)
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    Three weeks ago, I had the chance to revisit one of the great “could have–would have–should-haves” of my life, a regret that I have carried with me ever since college.

  • Arevut (May 3, 2013)
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    The sweetest and perhaps most famous legend told about Jerusalem is the tale of how King Solomon chose the spot to build the Temple.

  • Torah's Intent (May 10, 2013)
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    You may be familiar with one of Van Gogh’s most famous paintings, “The Bedroom.” I remember as a college student putting it up on my dorm room wall with adhesive poster putty, a momentary expression of my individuality – until I discovered that pretty much everyone else on my hall had done the sa

  • Bitul Ha-yesh (May 17, 2013)
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    Every medical student, I am told, is assigned at some point to read an article referred to as “The Hateful Patient.”

  • The Life We Have Chosen (May 31, 2013)
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    Not too long ago, I found myself at the front of a funeral procession, sitting in the passenger seat at the side of the hearse driver, on my way to officiate graveside for a long-time congregant.

  • One way, Off-peak from Secaucus (June 7, 2013)
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    On Wednesday of this week, Cantor Schwartz and I were honored to officiate at the funeral service for Senator Frank Lautenberg, of blessed memory.

  • Favorable Judgment (September 3, 2013)
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    Goldstein, after much delay and against his better judgment, finally gave in and agreed to go on a camping trip with his dear friend Cohen. At the end of the first day, exhausted, they set up camp, ready for a night under the stars.

  • Return (September 4, 2013)
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    Franz Rosenzweig’s decision to attend Rosh Hashanah services exactly one hundred years ago today, oddly, came down to a procedural matter.

  • The Fate that Awaits Us All (September 16, 2013)
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    Of all the dark and despairing hours of the Yom Kippur War, rock bottom arrived on day three – Tuesday, October 8, 1973.

  • Parting's Sweet Sorrow (September 25, 2013)
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    More so than any other Jewish holiday, the meaning of today’s festival of Shemini Atzeret is as enigmatic as it is elusive. “For seven days,” commands Leviticus, you shall bring an offering unto God.

  • Ayekha (September 27, 2013)
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    Had Adam and Eve the presence of mind to invoke their Miranda rights in the Garden of Eden, the history of biblical religion, if not all of Western Civilization, might have turned out very differently.

  • Enlarging Your Heart (October 4, 2013)
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    The most remarkable, most provocative and most self-evident premise of Biblical theology is the assertion that God cares at all about human beings. Mah enosh, “What is man, that you should take note of him?” The pointed question of the Psalmist goes to the heart of the matter: The humbli

  • Radical Hospitality (October 18, 2013)
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    Had the Pew Research Center analyzed the condition of the Jewish community of this week’s parashah, their assessment would undoubtedly have been altogether gloomy, if not downright bleak.

  • Parenting (November 5, 2013)
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    Considering that I am just under one month shy of my oldest daughter’s Bat Mitzvah, it may strike you (as it does me) as a bit presumptuous for me to deliver a sermon about parenting. The returns, as they say, are not yet in.

  • Rachel's Tears (November 16, 2013)
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    In my entrance exam for rabbinical school, I was asked to recite the Talmudic debate on the proper sequence of family and career. As formulated by the gendered language of the Talmud: “What should a man do first, get married or study Torah?” Not surprisingly, the Rabbis disagreed.

  • The Blessing of Assimilation (December 7, 2013)
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    The most interesting thing about the blessing one must recite upon seeing a king or secular head of state, is that such a blessing exists at all. Barukh she-natan mik’vodo livriotav.

  • The Big Picture (December 14, 2013)
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    Jews don’t believe in the Christian concept of original sin, but if we did, our tainted condition would result from a sin that occurred towards the end of the book of Genesis, not the beginning.

  • The Counterfactual (December 21, 2013)
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    Down the rabbit hole I fell this past Monday, faster and further than I had ever imagined possible. I had been invited to present a paper at the AJS conference in Boston, the annual gathering of the Association of Jewish Studies, comprised of Jewish studies academics from around the world.

2012 Sermons

A playlist of sermons by Rabbi Cosgrove are also available here. 

  • It’s Not Just a Bus, It’s Israel (January 7, 2012)
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    If you have ever flown El Al to Israel, as I did last week and will do again this evening, then you are familiar with its marketing motto, “It’s not just an airline, it’s Israel.” As the six Cosgroves piled into our seats, I reflected on the motto, “How very true – truer I bet than their marketin

  • Humanity and Hope (January 14, 2012)
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    Last Saturday night, like the spies sent by Moses, I boarded a plane to scout out the land of Israel. I have been to Israel more times than I can count and I have lived there on and off during my life.

  • Giving Room to Grow (February 11, 2012)
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    There is one family relationship so prickly, that I can only discuss it openly while my wife and children are away spending the weekend with my father-in-law, namely, the relationship between a man… and his father-in-law – that delicate and raw and charged relationship you have with the man who,

  • It's Not Just a Menorah (March 3, 2012)

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  • Later May Be Too Late (March 10, 2012)
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    This past week, along with over 13,000 other pro-Israel delegates, I attended the AIPAC policy conference. I have been going since my junior year of college when I led a delegation of fellow students.

  • The Uses and Abuses of History (March 20, 2012)
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    When the historian Peter Novick died last month, he bequeathed to the Jewish community a set of questions that will extend well beyond his years on this earth. In my years at the University of Chicago, I never studied formally with Dr.

  • Elementary Forms of Religious Life (March 23, 2012)
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    2012 marks the one hundred year anniversary of the publication of one the most important volumes in the study of religion – Emile Durkheim’s The Elementary Forms of Religious Life.

  • On the Freedoms and Limits of the Pro-Israel Dialogue (April 13, 2012)
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    In retrospect, in deciding to share my thoughts on the freedoms and limitations of the Pro-Israel dialogue, I probably should not have chosen to speak after Adon Olam and before Kiddush.

  • Round ‘em Like Mantle (April 13, 2012)
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    When it comes to counting the Omer, the days between the second night of Pesah and Shavuot, as many of you may know, I count the days according to different professional athletes and their jersey numbers. Two days ago, day 5: Albert Pujols.

  • True Grit (May 4, 2012)
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    Whether in reference to Yonatan, the fallen hero of the raid on Entebbe, or Bibi, the present Prime Minister of Israel, the Netanyahu name has long evoked an image that is both gutsy and altogether original.

  • The Caves of Our Lives (May 11, 2012)
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    This past Thursday, on Lag BaOmer, 33rd day of the counting of the Omer, tens of thousands of Jewish pilgrims gathered in the northern Israeli town of Meron for a memorial celebration , a Yom Hilula, at the grave of the mystic sage Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai.

  • Liberty and Its Limits (May 18, 2012)
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    From the Garden of Eden and onward, humanity has been confronted with the delicate balance of personal freedom and its limitations.

  • Dialogue Between the Generations (June 1, 2012)
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    As I begin my fifth year at Park Avenue Synagogue, I have had many opportunities to reflect on what it means to stand on the cusp of a generational shift in American Jewry.

  • My Birthright Experience (June 8, 2012)
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    This morning, I want to talk to you about a program called Birthright Israel – a ten-day free trip to Israel for young Jews between the ages 18 and 26.

  • Acting Now For Ever (June 15, 2012)
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    Not too long ago, a friend of mine shared with me the difference between a psychotic and a neurotic. A psychotic, he explained, believes that 2+2 = 5. A neurotic, on the other hand, knows that 2+2 = 4, but he worries about it all the time.

  • The Form is the Message (September 7, 2012)
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    Last week, the Cosgrove family took its annual road trip – this year from Ohio to Indiana to Michigan to New York, through central Pennsylvania. It was a great trip.

  • 1938 vs. 2012 (September 14, 2012)
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    It is tempting, I know, to draw parallels between 1938 and 2012. My inbox is filled with emails about appeasement, about Neville Chamberlain’s haunting 1938 proclamation of having secured peace in our time.

  • The Keter (September 15, 2012)
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    Secured in the lower level of the famed Shrine of the Book at Jerusalem’s Israel Museum sits the Aleppo Codex. You may have read about it this summer in the paper, and there is a new book about it by the journalist Matti Friedman.

  • Hineni (September 16, 2012)
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    Six long years the two of them worked closely together. She, the daughter of one of Baltimore’s great rabbis; he, the up-and-coming crown prince of Solomon Schechter’s recast faculty at the Jewish Theological Seminary.

  • Tipping the Balance (September 25, 2012)
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    This year, many children, my own included, will be reading The Diary of Anne Frank – seventy years since her first diary entry in 1942, sixty years since the diary first appeared in English.

  • The Convergence of the Twain (September 28, 2012)
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    Next month, Americans will take note of what is probably the most significant thing that never happened in our country’s history. At the time, the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962 brought the world to the very brink of Armageddon.

  • Keep Moving (October 5, 2012)

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  • Nothing “Just Happens” (October 7, 2012)
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    There exists in each of us a certain character trait, as understandable and pervasive as it is problematic, that inclines us to believe that things in this world “just happen.” We have a tendency to go about our business, seeing our laundry folded, the dishwasher emptied and dinner cooked and not

  • Foundational Questions (October 13, 2012)
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    According to the armchair economist Steven Landsburg, there are two great mysteries of the universe. The first, not surprisingly, is “Why is there something instead of nothing?” Why do we – why does anything – exist at all?

  • Israel's Promise and Challenge (October 26, 2012)
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    Pop Quiz: what is the very first sentence spoken by a man to a woman in the entire Hebrew Bible? Give it some thought From the Garden of Eden to Noah and the flood, all the way through Genesis … when was and what was the first line of dialogue on record shared between a man and a woman?

  • Zerizus (November 10, 2012)
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    If you really want to appreciate the kind of person Rebecca was, then you need to know two very important things about the Near East. First, a thirsty camel will, on average, drink up to one hundred liters per watering session.

  • Cells Without Numbers, Prisoners Without Names (December 8, 2012)
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    Given the multiple “New Years” observed by Jews throughout the year – Rosh Hashanah, Tu BiShvat (the Jewish Arbor Day), the first of Nissan – it is not surprising that another such Jewish New Year, Yud Tet b'Kislev (the 19th of Kislev) came and went last Monday, December 3, without much fanfare.

  • La Clemenza de Joseph (December 22, 2012)
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    In the annals of our people’s history, there are few figures considered so wicked, so worthy of our contempt as Titus.

2011 Sermons

A playlist of sermons by Rabbi Cosgrove are also available here. 

  • Redemption Song (January 15, 2011)
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    In her Pulitzer Prize winning novel Beloved, Toni Morrison describes how the protagonist, “Baby Suggs,” would, on occasion, take her company of slaves to an open area some distance away from the white-knuckle grip of their slave masters.

  • Life is Not Sinai (February 5, 2011)
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    There is a famous scene in Moliere’s play Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme, shared between the main character, Monsieur Jourdain, and a professor of philosophy. Jourdain, though he grew up in a middle class background, has become wealthy owing to his father’s success as a merchant.

  • The Bible in America (February 12, 2011)
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    This past week, February 9 to be exact, marked the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Confederate States of America, with Jefferson Davis, a former US Army officer, sworn in as president. One month later, Abraham Lincoln became the 16th president of the United States of America.

  • Divine Shards (February 26, 2011)
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    Abraham Isaac Kook (1865 – 1935) was one of the most influential rabbinic personalities of the Twentieth century. He was the Rabbi of Jaffa in 1904, then became the Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem, and eventually, the first Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi of the British Mandate of Palestine.

  • Mazel (March 12, 2011)
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    Bess Myerson was born with two attributes for which she could take no credit: her Jewish name – at the time, a liability; and her good looks – an ongoing blessing.

  • Religion Beyond the Limits of Reason Alone (March 25, 2011)
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    I have a friend, who, for the purposes of discussion, we shall call David. David is the son of a Holocaust survivor; he grew up Orthodox, and is a fiercely proud Jew. Passover Seders with David are always fun – he knows every word by heart, can sing every song in Hebrew, and is always off-key.

  • The Second Freedom (April 18, 2011)
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    To the degree that I understand Nietzsche at all, I am pretty sure he wrote something very interesting about the long term effects of slavery. He coined a term in French – ressentiment – that to the best of what I can tell is closely related to what you or I would call resentment.

  • The Goldstone Question (April 29, 2011)
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    Over the past decades, our public discourse has provided a catalog of pithy rhetoric, phrases that in a few words capture much broader cultural conversations. “Read my lips, no new taxes,” said George Bush the father in 1988.

  • The Eichmann Trial – 50 Years Later (May 6, 2011)
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    For Israelis, and perhaps the Jewish community at large, the most significant obituary issued this past week may not be the one that you are thinking of.

  • Walking the Walk (May 21, 2011)
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    According to the Jewish calendar we are in the midst of the sefirah, which means “counting,” specifically the days between Passover and Shavuot.

  • The Samson Complex (June 3, 2011)
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    Thirty years ago, a teacher of mine, Ed Greenstein of Tel Aviv University, suggested a fascinating theory regarding the biblical figure of Samson. Destined in utero for greatness as Israel’s savior, Samson would grow up to be an irresponsible and uncontrollable Hebraic Rob Roy.

  • Walk the Walk (June 27, 2011)
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    According to the Jewish calendar we are in the midst of the sefirah, which means “counting,” specifically the days between Passover and Shavuot. If you are unfamiliar with the observance, also called “counting the omer,” the mitzvah involves nothing more and nothing less than counting each day between our liberation from Egypt and the receiving of the Torah at Mount Sinai

  • 9/11: Empathy and Indifference (September 9, 2011)
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    9/11 has bequeathed to us a huge range of responses, as numerous and varied as we, the diverse humanity living in the wake of the tragedy. For many, perhaps many in this room, the loss, the grief, the mourning continues.

  • If I Forget Thee, O Jerusalem (September 23, 2011)
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    In terms of Biblical prooftexts for supporting Israel, some of the most famous are found in today’s Torah and haftarah reading. L’ma’an tziyon lo eheshe, u-l’ma’an yerushalayim lo eshkot, “For the sake of Zion I will not be silent, for the sake of Jerusalem, I will not be still.” (Isa.

  • The Stories We Write (September 27, 2011)
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    As we greet the New Year, I want to welcome each and every one of you. May we all be inscribed in the Book of Life for a year of health and happiness.

  • Waiting for a Miracle (September 28, 2011)
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    Precisely 70 years ago, on September 29 and 30, 1941, the single most horrific and infamous mass killing of the Holocaust occurred at Babi Yar.

  • A Complaint is a Gift (October 3, 2011)
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    Next time you are on Lexington Avenue, I want you to stop to appreciate the beautiful church that sits between 75th and 76th – the church of St. Jean Baptiste.

  • The Greater Good (October 7, 2011)
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    This past year, I had the opportunity to visit the Menachem Begin Museum in Jerusalem.

  • The Uprooted (October 14, 2011)
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    Before Oscar Handlin, there was one dominant narrative of American self-understanding – the frontier experience.

  • In the Garden and Beyond (October 21, 2011)
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    For reasons that are too strange to get into, I had the odd pleasure this past week of eating lunch with one of the nation’s most prominent statisticians from the University of Chicago.

  • Brother, Can You Spare a Blessing? (November 26, 2011)
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    To sit down at a large family Thanksgiving dinner is to experience the pleasures and pressures of family dynamics…on steroids. All of our familial idiosyncrasies, fissures, and history are brought together around a single table for an exclusive one night engagement.

  • The House of Laban (December 3, 2011)
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    From a historical perspective, there is nothing terribly surprising about the ethical failings we read about every day in the paper. Insider trading, phone hacking, influence peddling, steroids in sports, high school cheating scandals.

  • Aba-gate (December 17, 2011)
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    Two weeks have passed since a series of videos produced by the Israeli Ministry of Absorption caused American Jewry to collectively bristle at the suggestion that Jewish life in America is so thin that the children of Israeli ex-pats living in America will, if they stay in America, assimilate int

2010 Sermons

A playlist of sermons by Rabbi Cosgrove are also available here. 

  • Wars of Necesssity, Wars of Choice (December 5, 2010)
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    When is war necessary? Rabbi Cosgrove considers how Jewish tradition has answered that question from the Bible until now and expresses the hope that we will someday live in a world of peace where the question will no longer be relevant. 

  • Heirs to Hasmoneans, Sons of Kishinev (December 4, 2010)
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    In 1903, Chaim Nahman Bialik (1873-1934), the poet laureate of Modern Hebrew, was sent by the Jewish Historical Commission in Odessa to interview survivors of the Kishinev Pogrom.

  • Pilgrimage and Homecoming (November 27, 2010)
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    If there is one song that embodies the festival of Thanksgiving, it is Lydia Maria Child’s “Over the River and Through the Wood.” “Over the river, and through the wood, to Grandfather’s (or Grandmother’s) house we go, [Journeying through] the white and drifted snow…Hurrah for Thanksgiving Day.” I

  • Self Reliance (November 14, 2010)
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    If you read chapter one of Genesis carefully, or for that matter, any of the chapters that follow, then you can not help but realize that the Divine deed of significance is not so much the act of creation, as the act of separation. In the beginning, the universe was unformed and void.

  • Can You Grow from a "No"? (October 30, 2010)
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    My teacher in rabbinical school, Rabbi Eddie Feinstein of Temple Valley Beth Sholom in Los Angeles, taught me the most important lesson I ever learned about giving a sermon. No matter what you say, no matter what the topic, every sermon should be able to be summarized in a single sentence.

  • Just Because You Can, Doesn't Mean You Should (October 16, 2010)
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    You may have heard of the passing last week of one of the titans of New York real estate and philanthropic life, Robert Tishman. As president and chief executive of one of the county’s largest builders of office buildings, Mr.

  • Yizkor: Life Eternal (September 30, 2010)
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    In the coming week, when we hear the opening chapters of the book of Genesis, you should know that the most significant part of the story is not what happened, but what did not happen.

  • The Gentle Cynic (September 25, 2010)
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    This evening marks the 200th Yahrzeit of Rabbi Nachman of Bratzlav – the man whom Martin Buber called the last Jewish Mystic. Great-grandson to the saintly founder of Hasidism, the Baal Shem Tov, Rebbe Nachman communicated his mystical wisdom to his disciples by means of symbolic tales.

  • Yom Kippur 5771 (September 18, 2010)
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    Who is the most tragic figure of the entire Hebrew Bible? My teacher at the Jewish Theological Seminary, Professor Yochanan Muffs, would start each semester with this question, and since his passing last December, I can still imagine him waiting for a response.

  • Why I Am A Jew (September 9, 2010)
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    A century ago, Israel Zangwill’s play The Melting Pot was the talk of the town. The play was a contemporary adaptation of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. The Jewish protagonist, David, immigrates to America from Russia in the wake of the Kishinev Pogroms.

  • Facing Our Humanity (September 8, 2010)
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    Some of you may recall Oscar Wilde’s classic The Picture of Dorian Gray from your high school reading list. Set in Victorian England, the story begins with young Dorian, a cultured, beautiful and vain man sitting for a portrait.

  • Pyramids of Success (June 11, 2020)
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    Coach John Wooden passed away in Los Angeles last Friday night, June 4, at the age of 99.

  • What's So Funny About Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions? (May 28, 2010)
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    Vay’hi binsoa ha-aron, va-yomer Moshe, When the Ark was carried forward, Moses would declare: “Kuma Adonai, v’yafutzu oyvekha, v’yanusu m’sanekha mi-panekha, Arise Lord, may your enemies be scattered, may your foes be put to flight.” These words, found in our parasha, Beha’alotkha, are sung at th

  • Yizkor: Retrieving the Past (May 19, 2010)
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    I want to tell you a story about something wonderful that happened to me this past week, very possibly the nicest thing that has happened to me in a long time. It’s a true story, a story-inside-a-story that will require a bit of patience on your part, but I promise it will be well worth it.

  • Kugel On A Hot Sommer Day (May 14, 2010)
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    If every single Jewish studies professor, from every campus across North America, were to get on an airplane that took off, flew away, and never came back again, would Jewish life change at all?

  • A Narrow Bridge (May 7, 2010)
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    Kol ha-olam kulo gesher tzar m’od v’ha-ikkar lo l’fahed klal. “The whole world is a very narrow bridge, and the essential thing is not to fear at all.”

  • Pesah Sheni: Second Chances (April 30, 2010)
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    It may come to you as a surprise to hear that this past week you missed a Jewish holiday.

  • Steamships and Start-Ups (April 23, 2010)
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    Tomorrow afternoon, t-ball, soccer practice, and other parenting responsibilities permitting, I hope to stop by a one-day conference being hosted at Central Synagogue. I encourage you to attend.

  • The Four Children... Of Grief and Recovery (April 5, 2010)
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    In every generation, at every Passover seder, we return to the iconic passage of the four children. Four children: wise, wicked, simple, and the one who does not know how to ask.

  • Staying Power (March 29, 2010)
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    "Style… ain’t nothing but keeping the same idea from beginning to end.” So said the great Pulitzer Prize-winning Pittsburgh playwright August Wilson. It is within our capacity to see and sustain a thought, from its origins into unseen future horizons; that is the measure of who we are.

  • Book Launch: Rabbi Milton Steinberg's "The Prophet's Wife" (March 21, 2010)
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    If it were the case that Rabbi Milton Steinberg, z’’l, had only led this congregation from 1933 until his untimely death in 1950, building it from a sleepy Depression-era congregation to a beacon of intellectual, social, and religious activity in American life – that would have been enou

  • Prisoner of Hope: 60th Yahrzeit of Rabbi Milton Steinberg, Z"L (March 19, 2010)
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    It is my distinct honor and privilege to offer a sermon in memory of Rabbi Milton Steinberg on the occasion of his 60th Yahrzeit. On behalf of the entire congregation, I want to welcome Rabbi Steinberg’s sons, Dr. David Steinberg and Dr.

  • Tradition and Change (March 13, 2010)
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    Over the past few months, there has been much ado in the press about something called the DSM-V.

  • Esther, Vashti, and Other Uncomfortable Options for Jewish Women (February 20, 2010)
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    When our community gathers next Saturday night for the festival of Purim and the reading of the Scroll of Esther, many of us may feel that we are being offered two objectionable depictions of femininity.

  • Remembrance of Torah Past (February 6, 2010)
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    Right beneath your nose, just above your upper lip, is something called the philtrum. The origins and purpose of that small indentation are, for most of us, a mystery.

  • The Right to Be Different (January 30, 2010)
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    President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s January 1941 State of the Union address bequeathed to us perhaps the most substantial ideological statement of the Second World War, if not of American rhetoric as a whole.

2009 Sermons

A playlist of sermons by Rabbi Cosgrove are also available here. 

  • The Joseph Generation (December 12, 2009)
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    Some time ago, I had the pleasure of being escorted to shul by my daughter. There is no greater pleasure in my life than to walk to synagogue with one of my kids. As we walked hand-in-hand, I was struck by the power of our time together and the memories it evoked.

  • Jewish and American (November 11, 2009)
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    Of the 52 Shabbatot of the Jewish year, Shabbat Thanksgiving may not rank at the very top of the hierarchy. Many people are away, and those of us who are here feel the lingering side effects of the last two days of food… and relatives.

  • Judaism: Liberal or Conservative? (November 11, 2021)
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    I would hope that when asked for help by a brother in need, each of us in this room would respond better than our patriarch Jacob did. The scene is one we know well: Esau comes home, famished from a hunt.

  • Do You Still Love Me? (September 9, 2009)
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    Sadie and Abe had been married for many years. Over the decades, they had built a life together, achieving great material success, living far more luxuriously than they ever imagined from their humble beginnings. One day Abe came home from work, crushed, his face downcast and ashen.

  • The Importance of Apologies (September 25, 2009)
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    Sincere apologies, it would seem, are our nation’s fastest diminishing resource. A few weeks ago, many of you may have watched one of the oddest and perhaps most unsatisfying endings to a U.S.

  • The Journey Home (September 9, 2017)
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    This year marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of Sholom Aleichem. Russian-born, settling in America in 1914, Aleichem has been called the “natural genius of Yiddish Literature.” (Irving Howe, A Treasury of Yiddish Stories, p.