Tag: God

Gathering Stones: How to be a Morah Derekh

Stones represent the memories and wisdom gathered from living our lives. Each affirms that moment and its worthiness of being remembered.

Lara Rodin December 17, 2024 JTS Senior Sermon Learning

Sovereign of All the Earth: The Meaning of the Malkhuyot

Acknowledging God’s sovereignty marks our responsibility toward all of life, through which the one creative, life-sustaining spirit flows.

Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg September 19, 2024 Climate and Environment High Holidays

High Holiday Liturgy: Making Meaning from the Metaphors for God

By understanding the nuance of Divine justice, we are given a powerful model for healthier relationships in the human realm.

Rabbi Amalya Volz September 18, 2024 High Holidays Holidays

On Relationships with God and Other Human Beings

Ilana Sandberg (JTS RS '24) explores parashat Ki Tisa and speaks on relationships with God and other human beings.

Ilana Sandberg February 29, 2024 JTS Senior Sermon Learning

The Torah of Disorienting Moments

Talia Kaplan (JTS RS '24) explores parashat Mishpatim and the Torah of disorienting moments, reflecting on her rabbinical school experience.

Rabbi Talia Kaplan February 7, 2024 JTS Senior Sermon Learning

Binding Love and Loss

Amalya Volz (JTS RS '24) explores Parashat Yitro through the binding of love and loss and the people of Israel's relationship with God.

Rabbi Amalya Volz February 1, 2024 JTS Senior Sermon Learning

How to Forgive (Kol Nidrei)

When the time of Yom Kippur is upon us, we talk a lot about forgiveness. Saying "sorry" is easy—how do we forgive?

Rabbi Sarah Freidson November 5, 2023 High Holidays Holidays

Netzach and Hod (Rosh Hashanah)

Rabbi Friedson explains the middot—soul traits—of netzach and hod and relates the required tenacity and glory to this time of year.

Rabbi Sarah Freidson November 5, 2023 High Holidays Holidays

The Interplay of Routine and Intention: Keva and Kavanah

Our prayers are almost always a mixture of both keva (oft-recited text) and kavanah (deeper layers of meaning).

Rabbi Dr. Karen Reiss Medwed, The Observant Life (Book) May 16, 2023 Every Day Prayer

Creating a Sacred Physical Space

Halakhah demands that we invoke God’s name in prayer only in settings that are worthy of the sacred enterprise of prayer.

Rabbi Dr. Karen Reiss Medwed, The Observant Life (Book) May 16, 2023 Every Day Prayer

Connecting with God Through Prayer

We hear from God through our participation in liturgical prayer, and also through the study of religious texts.

Rabbi Dr. Karen Reiss Medwed, The Observant Life (Book) May 15, 2023 Every Day Prayer

Jewish Customs Showing Care for People who are Ill

Visiting the sick is counted as one of the mitzvot that is rewarded both in this world and also in the World to Come.

Rabbi Carl Astor, The Observant Life (Book) May 10, 2023 Health Illness

How to Comfort Mourners During Shivah

What do I do when I go to a shivah? Remember that conversation should be about the deceased, not the mourners or the visitors.

Rabbi Carl Astor, The Observant Life (Book) February 26, 2023 Death and Dying Lifecycles

Encountering the Shema: 7 Questions

Rabbi Mordecai Miller reflects on the Shema with 7 questions: Throughout my life, I’ve tried to understand what this sentence really means.

Rabbi Mordecai Miller January 25, 2023 Every Day Liturgy

Shemini Atzeret: Chilling with God

Shemini Atzeret is a holiday that has left Jews puzzled for generations, but it's really about our intimate relationship with God.

Emily Jaeger September 23, 2022 High Holidays Holidays

T’fillah/Prayer: A Mitzvah to Take a “Time Out”

T'fillah, Jewish prayer, is rooted in self-judgment, reflection, and connecting to something greater than ourselves.

The Observant Life (Book), Rabbi Dr. Karen Reiss Medwed June 29, 2022 Prayer Understanding Prayer

Your Tween Doesn’t Want a B-Mitzvah? That’s OK.

By empowering children to own this decision, we’re helping them to develop into young adults, and isn’t that what a B-Mitzvah is all about?

Dana Sharon Winer June 20, 2022 B-Mitzvah Lifecycles