The Beth Tfiloh Siddur Ceremony

Enjoy this video of me speaking to the First Graders at the annual Beth Tfiloh Siddur Ceremony. These are the same remarks I’ve been giving the children for over 30 years . . . but with a new twist!

God and Man . . . in Haiti!

SHABBAT SERMON – January 30, 2010
God and Man . . . in Haiti!

No matter how much we have come to experience and see loss and disaster, one cannot help but be overwhelmed by the pictures that have come into our homes from the devastation in Haiti. A Fox News correspondent, who had witnessed some of the world’s worst calamities, when arriving in Haiti and looking at its capital, broke down and cried. Crying seems to be the most natural thing to do … for what is there to say? Perhaps the Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, spoke for all of us when he said he had “nothing to say to make sense of this horror.” Pat Robertson would have been wise to have taken the Archbishop’s words to heart. Pat Robertson, the television minister who never passes up a chance to put his foot in his mouth, immediately declared that God caused the devastation of Haiti because many years ago Haiti had made a deal with the devil in order to achieve independence. It is easy to dismiss Rev. Robertson’s words as most have done, but the fact is, whenever a tragedy of this magnitude takes place most thinking people wonder: did God cause this? How are we to understand this from a religious perspective? READ MORE

Beth Tfiloh Sermon Page

Jimmy Carter’s Al Het

SHABBAT SERMON – January 23, 2010

A lot of things took place while I was away that are worthy of discussion; important things like the two earthquakes: last week’s in Haiti, and this week’s in Massachusetts. But that will wait until next week. Today I want to discuss an issue that came up when going through my mail and I am going to let you help me decide. We all have choices to make every day of our lives. One of those choices is: who should we give money to … what organizations are worthy of our support?

Lessons for the New Year from the Old Year

SHABBAT SERMON - JANUARY 2, 2010

RABBI MITCHELL WOHLBERG

Lessons for the New Year from the Old Year …

This is the first Shabbos in the New Year 2010 but I am still not finished with last year. I know that with the ball lowering at Times Square on New Years Eve we are supposed to “ring out the old and ring in the new.” But I still have some unfinished business from last year which I want to take care of this morning. There are three stories – three Jewish stories – I came across last year that I wanted to comment on, but somehow they didn’t fit in to any of my sermons. But the three are noteworthy because one was the most emailed story of the year, one the most exciting story of the year, and one the strangest story of the year.  READ MORE

A Chanukah story and Chanukah scene

Here is a fabulous Chanukah story: http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1260447418475&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

And a nice Chanukah scene: http://washingtoncollegium.blogspot.com/2009/12/jerusalem-flash-mob.html

Chanukah Sameach and Shabbat Shalom.

My Chanukah sermon

Health Care and some Chanukah cheer

Is there a Jewish position on the health care proposal?  Some people seem to think that Sen. Lieberman should vote in favor because he is Jewish:

Joe, Start Acting Jewish! by Lee Siegel (The Daily Beast, Dec. 14, 2009)

A Senator at Odds With His Constituents — And, Some Say, His Faith, by Nathan Guttman (The Forward, Dec. 9, 2009)

Some people even go as far as to say that his wife should lose her job if he doesn’t vote in favor:

The anti-feminist attack on Hadassah Lieberman, by Kathleen Parker (Washington Post, Dec. 16, 2009)

I personally find this nauseating.

And so, just to leave you with some Chanukah cheer:

Our Candles, Ourselves (Tablet, Dec. 15, 2009)

Texting, tweeting and blogging

Something different … something for us tweeters, bloggers, texters, etc. to think about:

“We can’t see the forest for the T-Mobiles” (Washington Post, 12/15/09)

“How the Streets of New York Got More Dangerous” (New York Times, 12/14/09)

Chanukah’s contemporary lessons

Here are two different perspectives on the contemporary lessons of Chanukah … they both make you think:

The Hanukkah Story, by David Brooks (New York Times, 12/10/09)

Kosher Courage, by Matthew Wagner (Jerusalem Post, 12/13/09)

Everything you need for Chanukah

The link below gives you everything you need for Chanukah (except for the candles, of course).  Enjoy this beautiful festival of ours … and try to come to synagogue tomorrow.  It’s going to be a special day.

Shabbat Shalom.

Hannukah: A Guide for the Perplexed (Tablet Magazine, Dec. 10, 2009)