Divrei Torah - Guests/Members
Divrei Torah - Guests and Members
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These talks were delivered by members and guests on Shabbat and holidays.
Other talks by members, including some High Holyday talks, are available in Members’ Writings (members only).
Read more...Rabbi Everett Gendler Shabbat Shuvah 2020
Rabbi Everett Gendler
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Audio File included.
Toba, thank you so very much. It was a beautiful service. Both of you and all of you who are present are very generous in welcoming me to your community. You know, in some sense, I haven't the proper qualifications to be speaking to you right now. After all, I'm not physically present, though, I suppose none of us is in that sense, but I've not had the pleasure of actually visiting your...Read more...
From Priests to Maskilim - What does dress matter?
Dr. Frances Malino
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Shabbat shalom!
It is an especially joyful Shabbat for me today for along with my Dorshei community I am also surrounded by members of my family.
As I read today’s parasha in preparation for my d’var, I smiled to myself. My d’var comes a day after my birthday—often a time when memories of our parents come to mind. And my mother—of this I have no doubt-- would have taken great delight in today’s...Read more...
Dr. Lawrence Rosenwald on January 25th, 2020
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On va’era and Name
Va’era was my bar mitzvah portion. That isn’t to say that I learned it when I was thirteen, since at that time I had no Jewish community or Jewish knowledge. Rather I learned it when I was on my way to turning sixty-four. In the intervening years I’d become moderately observant, I’d often been called to the Torah, I’d led services, but I hadn’t leyned. ...Read more...
My Jewish Journey - Rosh Hashanah day 1, 2019
LilyFish Gomberg
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Good Morning! If you haven’t yet met me, my name is Lily Fisher Gomberg, I go by LilyFish & I use she and they pronouns.
This is my eighteenth time attending Rosh Hashannah services at Dorshei Tzedek, so I know that these Jewish Journeys usually end with; “and that’s how I ended up here.” But- I’m only 21. I didn’t end up here, I started here.
My mom, Diana, and my dad, Richard, joined...Read more...
The Gifts We Bring
The Rev’d. Gretchen Sanders Grimshaw
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The Gifts We Bring
February 9, 2019
Terumah
The Rev’d. Gretchen Sanders Grimshaw
Congregation Dorshei Tzedek, West Newton , MA
Exodus 25.1-19
25The Lord said to Moses: 2Tell the Israelites to take for me an offering; from all whose hearts prompt them to give you shall receive the offering for me. 3This is the offering that you shall receive from them: gold, silver, and bronze, 4blue, purple, and crimson yarns...Read more...
Poetry from Yom Kippur 5779
Ben Newman, Josette Akresh-Gonzales, and Jo Radner
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5779
On Yom Kippur, Dorshei Tzedek members and poets Ben Newman, Josette Akresh-Gonzales, and Jo Radner explored the Avodah service, a part of the traditional Yom Kippur liturgy, to find their own meaning of Yom Kippur. They shared original poems- beautiful, powerful, relatable and diverse- to invite us to reflect on our own experiences of the day. You can read their poetry at the links below.
The Trumpet Player
by...Read more...
Violent Death, Violent Birth
Matilda Bruckner
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5779
Violent Death Violent Birth.pdf
Violent Death, Violent Birth
D’var Torah on Sh’mot, Exodus 1:1 – 6:1: Israel in Egypt, the beginning of their exodus and the story of Moses
Dedicated to Ruth Bruckner, my mother-in-law—her yahrzeit coincides this year with the date of her death on New Year’s Eve, 1969
Matilda Tomaryn Bruckner
29 December 2018
In last...Read more...
Kol Nidre Sermon
Rabbi Shahar Colt
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“When a person departs from the world, all their deeds come and present themselves to him one by one, saying: “This is what you did on day X. Do you believe it?” The person responds: “Yes, I do.” The deed then says: “Sign!” — and the person signs. Then the person vindicates God’s judgment, saying: “You judge me correctly.”
This ancient midrash from the sifre, a rabbinic commentary on the book of Devarim,...Read more...
D’var Torah B’ha’alot’kha
Dr. Judith Kates
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5778
D’var Torah B'ha'alotkha 2018.pdf
Summertime brings us every year in our cycle of Torah readings to a difficult place called in Hebrew “midbar” which I’ll translate as ‘wilderness.’ The entire book of the Torah read in synagogue through these lovely months called reassuringly the book of Numbers in English, has a more ominous name in Hebrew- sefer b’midbar- the book in the wilderness. Playing on that name,...Read more...
So that I may Dwell among Them (parshah Terumah)
Stan Fleischman
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5775
So That I may Dwell among Them.pdf
Where does God Live?
I never thought that I would be delivering a d’var Torah, with so much of a focus on God, since “God language” makes me uncomfortable. But, when Matilda asked me if I would deliver a d’var Torah and told me the possible dates, I said to myself, “Hmm I’ll give myself a few days to research the parshiot for those dates and come up with a...Read more...
Living in Two Worlds: The Legacy of Vayikra
Deborah Waber
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5774
Vayikra.pdf
Living in Two Worlds: The Legacy of Vayikra
Deborah Waber
Shabbat Vayikra (March 16, 2013)
This week, we began reading the book of Vayikra, or Leviticus. Although sometimes characterized as the “priestly instruction manual,” it also contains ritual commands for the laity, including dietary and...Read more...
History and Memories: Past and Present
Fran Malino
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5774
History and Memories d'var Torah.pdf
History and Memories: Past and Present
As an historian, and especially as a Jewish historian, I have often wrestled with the dialogue between history and memory. For perhaps in no religious tradition are memory and history more interwoven than in Judaism. When God...Read more...
Advocacy and Hard Hearted Pharaoh
Ellie Goldberg
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Parshat Va'era 5774
Va'era
D’var on Parshat Va’eraBackground: God has finally heeded the cries of the Israelites and calls Moses to go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out to a land flowing with milk and honey.
Moses is the reluctant advocate but teams up with Aaron, and after God tells Moses the script of how God is going to direct the action, we see the play unfold.
Shmot...Read more...
Parashah Terumah
Cindy Rivka Marshall
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Feb 1, 2014/5774
PDF version
Picture us, the Israelites, at the foot of the mountain. The smell of smoke lingers in the air. The trembling of the mountain still has us trembling. We have received the 10 commandments. Here we are, saying yes to Adonai, yes to agreeing to live by the Torah and to teach our children the Torah. Our first instruction is we must remember our past and have compassion for the stranger, for others. We,...Read more...
VA-YETSE: (And He Went Forth)
Linda Yael Schiller
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5773
VA-YETSE: (And He Went Forth)
Linda Yael Schiller
Davar Torah
11/24/12
VA-YETSE:
(And He Went Forth)
Marsha Norman tells us that “dreams are illustrations… from the book your soul is writing about you”, and the Talmud...Read more...
Shabbat HaChodesh: Reconstructing Passover
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Pesach 5772
Reconstructing Passover, by Rabbi Mordechai Liebling
Shabbat shalom, it is an honor, a privilege and a pleasure for me to be here; a wonderful occasion to celebrate. This is Shabbat Hachodesh and our extra torah reading is from Exodus, the initial commandment and description for observing Passover. The rabbi’s inserted this reading to remind us to prepare for the holiday. Today I am suggesting some...Read more...
Vayyetze
Louise Enoch
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5771
Vayyetze
In this week’s parsha, Jacob starts out on a journey. This is not just a geographic journey, but one that begins his transformation from deceitful young man to revered patriarch of the Children of Israel. Before I share with you what I have learned during this journey with Jacob, let me first review the action that takes place between Jacob’s departure from Beer Sheba and his leave taking of Laban many years...Read more...
Process Theology and the story of Bilam and his Donkey
Stan Fleischman
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5771
Process Theology and the story of Bilam and his Donkey
Process Theology and the story of Bilam and his Donkey
Stan Fleischman
June 26, 2010
Parshah Balak is about a talking donkey and its owner, the non-Israelite prophet Bilam, who utters the words “How Fair are your tents, O Jacob, Your dwellings, O Israel” which made it into the Jewish liturgy, and which we read at the very...Read more...
D'var S'phirat Ha-Omer: Counting of the Omer
Esther Kohn
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5771
S'phirat Omer 2010.pdf
I am in awe of the spring. For some reason it seems more miraculous this year. I’ve already bonded with my garden, sinking my hands deep into the soil, raking the dirt to wake it up. I uprooted a dying shrub and planted a lilac sapling that my neighbor gave me. I think it worked, it’s actually starting to bud. Each day our devoted perennials, the irises, the lilies, the tulips, they’re all...Read more...
D'var Noach
Susan Nitkin
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5770
noach - susan nitkinl.pdf
“Adonai remembered Noach and all the beasts and all the animals that were with him in the ark, and Adonai caused a spirit to pass over the earth, and the waters subsided. The fountains of the deep and the windows of the heavens were closed, and the rain from heaven was restrained. The waters then receded from upon the earth, receding continuously, and the waters diminished at the end of a...Read more...
Parshas Vayeshev
Lisa Port White
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December, 2009/5770
mamas dvar
I began thinking of this Torah portion two years ago, or so, when we decided that this would be the date of my daughter Nellie’s bat mitzvah. The date for her birthday weekend was taken, so we thought, why not pick a cool portion and, heck, get a Hallel service to boot? And the cake possibilities for Vayeshev were just too good to pass up.
Until about three months ago, I was...Read more...
Tim Gunn meets the Prophet Elijah
Susannah Zisk
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Tim Gunn meets the Prophet Elijah
April 3, 2010
Read more...
Drawing Closer - Dvar Torah on Vayikra (Leviticus 1:1–5:26)
Stan Fleischman
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5769
Vayikra
I. Introduction
Today we started reading the third book of the Torah, called Vayikra. This is also the name of the first parsha in this book. The name derives from the first Hebrew word in the parsha “And He called” – referring to Adonai calling out to Moses from the tent of Meeting (Mishkan).
Vayikra is commonly known by its Greek name, Leviticus, so called because it contains the...Read more...
D'var Tazria/Metzora -- (Leviticus 12:1–15:33)
Esther Kohn
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5769
D'var Tazria/Metzora
You gotta love Leviticus. Bodily fluids, pus, sores, rashes, discoloration, fungus, ah the list goes on. I was lucky enough to select April 25 to offer a d’var torah. This year, as in most non-leap years, it’s a double header, not just one parsha but two, two wonderful parshot, Tazria and Metzora, that describe everything you wanted to know about skin affliction and more. Challenging, yes. And I...Read more...
Parshah Shemot: Burning Bush? What Burning Bush?
Susannah Zisk
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Burning bush? What burning bush?
“An angel of the lord appeared to him in a blazing fire out of a bush. He gazed, and there was a bush all aflame, yet the bush was not consumed. Moses said ‘I must...Read more...
Korach’s Rebellion: A Revisionist Dvar Torah
Stan Fleischman
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5767
Korach
As we inexorably segue into the 2008 Presidential Election Campaign, we become increasingly confronted by professional spinmeisters and the candidates themselves offering “spins” to cast in the best light their statements, misstatements, and contradictory voting records.
Thinking about Korach’s rebellion in the context of today’s political jockeying does not seem irrelevant to me. Simply put,...Read more...
Experiences in the Pit
Cindy Rivka Marshall
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D'var Torah on Parashat Vayeishev -- Bat Torah of Cindy Rivka Marshall:
16 December, 2006/5766
Experiences in the Pit
OK – so, some of you are probably thinking: she doesn’t look 13! What is this woman doing? Well, as some of you may know, a Jewish person becomes a Bat or Bar Mitzvah when they turn 13, no matter whether or not they have a ritual to mark it. I did not have a ritual when I turned 13. I was raised...Read more...
My Brother Esau Is An Hairy Man, But I, I am a Smooth Man
Stan Fleischman
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5765
dvar - scapegoat.pdf
It may seem strange that the parsha right before Pesach deals, in large part, with instructions to the High Priest about how to celebrate Yom Kippur, which is about six months away. However, we should keep in mind that both holidays are New Years celebrations: Passover commemorates our exodus from Egypt and celebrates our birth as a nation, while Yom Kippur, the day Moses descended from Mount Sinai...Read more...
Parsha Ki Tisa – March 13 God’s Thirteen Attributes of Mercy
Stan Fleischman
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5764
Parsha Ki Tisa – March 13
God’s Thirteen Attributes of Mercy
[First, let me start with a summary of this week’s parsha.]
At the heart of this week’s parsha is the story of the Golden Calf. The Israelites, fearing that Moses (who they credit with their liberation from Egypt, rather than an invisible God) will not return from his ascent of Mount Sinai, create a Golden Calf in the desert, and...Read more...
Divrei Torah - Guests/Members
Susannah Zisk
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Jacob and Esau
Parsha Toldot
The opening section of Parsha Toldot (Genesis 25:19-34) tells the story of the birth of Jacob and Esau and the circumstances surrounding Esau’s well-known decision to spurn his birthright...Read more...
Wed, October 21 2020
3 Cheshvan 5781
Upcoming Events
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Thursday ,
OctOctober 22 , 2020Zoom 201 Practice Session
Thursday, Oct 22nd 12:00p to 1:00p
Take some time to practice with other Zoom hosts until you feel absolutely comfortable and can effortlessly share documents and videos, run breakout sessions, message meeting registrants, and download Zoom recordings. -
Thursday ,
OctOctober 22 , 2020Environmental Voter Project: Voter Texting Action
Thursday, Oct 22nd 5:00p to 6:00p
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Saturday ,
OctOctober 24 , 2020Shabbat Morning Service
Shabbat, Oct 24th 10:00a to 12:00p
Please join us for musical, participatory, weekly Shabbat Morning Services! The service ends with an opportunity to offer blessings for healing for those who are ill and suffering, and to recite Mourners Kaddish. The service is then followed by virtual “Kiddush” chat rooms, an opportunity to connect with members and guests. -
Sunday ,
OctOctober 25 , 2020Building Our Capacity for Dialogue
Sunday, Oct 25th 1:00p to 2:00p
Arava Insitute Alumni speakers will lead an hour-long workshop where participants can learn more about the tools of dialogue and how to engage in environmental peacebuilding in their own communities. The group will address the matter of dialogue vs. debate, how dialogue reveals what lies beneath the surface of conflict, and how to transform dialogue into action. Space is limited; register in advance. -
Monday ,
OctOctober 26 , 2020Reclaim Our Vote phone bank session
Monday, Oct 26th 7:30p to 8:30p
Join us to make calls to get out the vote. We’ll train all participants who have not previously done phone banking and answer your questions at the beginning. ROV has a calling platform that is easy to use. Questions? Contact Cindy Shulak-Rome at cshulakrome@gmail.com. -
Tuesday ,
OctOctober 27 , 2020Contact Tracing, Civil Liberties and Public Health with Rabbi Shahar
Tuesday, Oct 27th 12:00p to 1:00p
From T’ruah's webinar series “Jewish Law and Ethics: a hackathon for the age of COVID-19”: Contact tracing is an essential tool for fighting the spread of COVID-19, but many recent tech-based suggestions about how to implement this public-health strategy broadly and quickly raise serious privacy concerns. How should Jews approach these concerns about contact tracing? How do we maintain values of liberty, privacy and public safety in extraordinary circumstances? -
Wednesday ,
OctOctober 28 , 2020Reclaim Our Vote phone bank session
Wednesday, Oct 28th 7:00p to 8:00p
Join us to make calls to get out the vote. We’ll train all participants who have not previously done phone banking and answer your questions at the beginning. ROV has a calling platform that is easy to use. Questions? Contact Cindy Shulak-Rome at cshulakrome@gmail.com. -
Wednesday ,
OctOctober 28 , 2020Jewishness, Whiteness, and Race in America
Wednesday, Oct 28th 7:30p to 9:00p
With Rabbi Toba Spitzer and Dr. Jenny Sartori. In the wake of the murder of George Floyd and the uprising against police brutality, many American Jewish communities are grappling with what it means to become actively anti-racist. As Dorshei Tzedek takes on this challenge, this class offers an introductory exploration of the intersections of Jewish identity, antisemitism and anti-Black racism, and the American construct of “whiteness.” What does it mean to say that European Jews “became white” in the 20th century? How do we understand the intersections of the different traumas held in white, Black, and Jewish bodies? How do systemic racism and antisemitism operate in 21st century American society? What does an embrace of a multiracial Jewish reality look like? Join us for study, discussion, and personal reflection and exploration. -
Thursday ,
OctOctober 29 , 2020Environmental Voter Project: Voter Texting Action
Thursday, Oct 29th 5:00p to 6:00p
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Saturday ,
OctOctober 31 , 2020Shabbat Morning Service
Shabbat, Oct 31st 10:00a to 12:00p
Shabbat morning, October 31, 10am-11:45am - Join Rabbi Toba at 10am for song and prayer (and a bit of meditation). At 11am we will explore the Torah portion Lech Lecha, the beginning of Abraham and Sarah's journey. Our study will be dedicated to the memory of CDT member Eugene Black, on the occasion of his 7th yarzheit. We will close the service with blessings of healing and Mourners Kaddish.