There’s a story I heard when I was in college about Dr. Stone. A physics professor at the University of Michigan. It’s probably an Urban Legend but it’s a good story. Dr. Stone was an ardent atheist and one day he told his class, I can prove to you that God doesn’t exist. Dr. Stone calls out God. Dr. Stone said, ‘God – if you’re real — then come down right now and knock me off this platform’. I’ll give you 15 minutes!
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My mom always knew I was going to be a Rabbi because when I was 8, I had a lot of energy and I was attending a Jewish Day School until 4pm each afternoon. So, she signed me up for Karate lessons and the instructor said to the class the first thing you have to do is bow down as a sign of respect. I said I don’t bow down for anyone but God.
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I share with you a true story that occurred at a recent funeral where I was the officiant.
It was a graveside funeral and everyone was standing around the grave waiting for the casket to be fully lowered into the grave site.
At the casket was lowered in almost settled down below, with everyone in quiet attendance, suddenly, the following recorded message was heard by me and I imagine others around me –
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One of the other names for Rosh Hashanah is Yom HaDin, the Day of Judgment, because during these 10 days we stand ready to be judged by God, by Dayan HaEmet, the ultimate judge.
The process actually began 40 days ago, at the beginning of the last month of the Hebrew year which is called Elul.
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On a Friday night in the middle of July, Congregation Kol Shalom hosted more than a few dozen parishioners from Holy Family Catholic Church in Davidsonville, Maryland. (great name)
These Christian Congregants have visited our synagogue three times over the last few years and we visited them once in August, 2016.
They initiated the visits, even our visit to them, and I think I know why.
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Most of you know that Sharon and I spent nine days in France this past summer.
This trip was planned as a vacation, but also became a pilgrimage retracing the paths of some of our ancestral Jews in southern France.
Before this trip I knew virtually nothing about Provence.
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Classical rabbinic Judaism includes a directive and formula for Jews to recite 100 blessings every day.
Given that the weekday Amida contains 19 blessings and given that the traditional Jew recites this prayer three times every day, that already gets you to 57.
Of course there are many additional blessings included in other daily prayers plus, since most of us eat every day, there are the blessings that precede and follow our meals and snacks.
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