Religious Life

Recent Sermons

Do Not Heed Conspiracy Theories

“Do not Heed Conspiracy Theories” 7 Elul 5779 | Shoftim | September 7, 2019 Rabbi Alexander Davis   She turned over card after card and laid them out before me. “Hmm that’s interesting,” she said. “Oh, very interesting. That makes sense.”  “What do you see,” I asked. “Very interesting,” she replied. I hadn’t expected to have my fortune read. But sometimes you never quite know...

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“Labor Day Rosh Chodesh” – Weekly Words of Torah from Rabbi Davis – August 30, 2019

  Shalom Chaverim This weekend marks an important time on our Jewish and American calendars. On the secular calendar, we celebrate Labor Day and on the Jewish calendar, we celebrate Rosh Chodesh Elul, the new month of Elul. Labor Day was promoted by labor unions in the late 19th century to celebrate the contribution of workers to the prosperity, strength and security of America. Rosh...

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Teach Your Children. Teach Your Students – Weekly Words of Torah from Rabbi Davis – August 16, 2019

Shalom Chaverim This past week, one of my teachers, Rabbi Reuven Hammer, died. Rabbi Hammer was a scholar and one of the founders of the Masorti (Conservative) Movement in Israel. I studied midrash with Rabbi Hammer during my year of rabbinical school year in Jerusalem. So, I’d like to share a midrash in his memory. We read in this week’s parasha, Vaetchanan, words we know...

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“Guard Your Tongue” – Weekly Words of Torah from Rabbi Davis – August 9, 2019

  Shalom Chaverim I spoke to you last week about sinat chinam. The rabbis famously teach that the Second Temple was destroyed because of baseless hatred. Internal strife between Jewish groups weakened Jewish society so much so that they could not withstand the external threat of the Romans. Significantly, some commentaries on the Talmud focus less on the emotion of hatred and more on its...

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Plowing with Love and Doubt – Weekly Words of Torah from Rabbi Davis – August 2, 2019

  Shalom Chaverim When my kids were young and we’d have dinner, one of them would inevitably say something like, “I hate broccoli.” And I’d say back to them, “you can just say ‘no thank you.’ And at some point during the day, one of the kids would inevitably say to his brother, “I hate you.” And I’d ask him to find a different word...

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A Call For Civil Discourse – A Weekly Letter from Rabbi Davis – July 17, 2019

Shalom Chaverim I have spent a few days this week visiting Camp Ramah. (In a week, I’ll go up to Herzl.) With limited cell phone coverage, I missed what I understand has been a very difficult week at home. Nevertheless, allow me to share some thoughts. As you may know, earlier in the week Rabbi Olitzky posted a message of support for Rep Ilhan Omar...

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