Parashat Va-era: Being a part of Israel, not apart by Rabbi David Baum© A couple of weeks ago, we had the opportunity to learn from a Rabbi who teaches at the CY. In each one of his teachings, he ended with his personal take on the issue, his personal take on pre-martial sex, his personal [...]

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Being A Man/Woman In A Place Without Men - © Rabbi David Baum Parashat Shemot, 2012/5772 Rabbi David Baum, Congregation Shaarei Kodesh I recently returned from an annual retreat called the Rabbinic Training Institute. It’s a week of learning with some of the preeminent minds of the Conservative movement. But among all the famous rabbis and [...]

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Vayigash: Talking About God In Our Synagogues and on the Field – ©Rabbi David Baum December 31st, 2011, Rabbi David Baum Congregation Shaarei Kodesh When sports stars win a game, who is the first person they thank?  God.  The funny thing is when they lose, I never hear, “Well, it was God’s fault.” It is [...]

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Avoiding Pit Falls:  Vayeshev 5772/2011 Delivered by Rabbi David Baum, Congregation Shaarei Kodesh Today, we stand here in simcha, happiness, as we welcome two young men into Jewish adulthood for their Bnai Mitzvah.  Bar/Bat Mitzvahs, baby namings, brit milah, weddings, and funerals and unveilings all fall under the classification of a life cycle event.  I [...]

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Israel Struggling with Israel: Va-Yishlach 5772/2011 Delivered by Rabbi David Baum, Congregation Shaarei Kodesh Today, I would like to begin by describing two You Tube clips that I saw: In one clip, we see a young man and woman who come home to their swanky apartment. The young man looks at the apartment which has [...]

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The Efficacy of Prayer:  Jacob’s Prayer and Ours-   Va’yetzei 2011/5772 – Delivered by Rabbi David Baum, Congregation Shaarei Kodesh This week, I sat on a panel at Donna Klein Jewish Academy’s 8th grade class program titled, The Lot (please see picture and description below). Eighth-graders Learn in ‘The Lot’ Eighth-graders in Mrs. Gurspan’s Judaic Studies [...]

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Embracing Diversity: A Jewish and American Value Delivered by Rabbi David Baum, Congregation Shaarei Kodesh Parashat Toledot, 2011/5772 My brother hosted Thanksgiving this year for the first time.  It is a pivotal moment in our family – the next generation is now taking the lead.  Finally, we get to be in control of the menu! [...]

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The Shark and the Fish: Reflections of the Redemption of Gilad Shalit Delivered by Rabbi David Baum, Congregation Shaarei Kodesh October 29, 2011, Shabbat Bereshit Today, I want to begin with a short story that was written by an 11 year old boy titled, “The Shark and the Fish” A small and gentle fish was [...]

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A Story of Two Brothers:  Not Friends, But Family Yom Kippur Sermon 5772/2011 Delivered by Rabbi David Baum Today, I would like to tell you the story of two brothers. Once there were two brothers who inherited a farm and worked together for years in brotherly love.  After a time, one of them found a [...]

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The Big Brother In You Kol Nidre Sermon 5772/2011 – Congregation Shaarei Kodesh Delivered by Rabbi David Baum Who in here remembers reading the book 1984 for their high school summer reading? In the book, George Orwell scared us with a view of totalitarian government suppressing the people by constantly watching them. In the book, [...]

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How Will You Measure the 525,600 Holy Minutes in Your Life? Rosh Hashanah Sermon, 5772 Delivered by Rabbi David Baum, Congregation Shaarei Kodesh Five Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand Six Hundred Minutes Five Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand Moments so dear Five Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand Six Hundred Minutes How Do You Measure – Measure A Year? In Daylights – [...]

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Ki Tavo 5771– Living the Life of a Farmer Rabbi David Baum, Congregation Shaarei Kodesh There is a scene from the movie Easy Rider that really sticks out to me at this moment. We have planted our seeds. We ask… …that our efforts be worthy… …to produce simple food… …for our simple taste. We ask [...]

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The Meaning Of Simcha:  Parashat Re’eh 5771/2011 Delivered by Rabbi David Baum, Congregation Shaarei Kodesh In many ways, we are a culture that strives to be happy. We think that the more things we buy, the more things that we can afford, the happier we can be. Today, we are going to look at how [...]

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Loving God and Each Other, When We Lie Down, When We Sleep August 13, 2011, Parsahat Va’etchanan It has been a truly tumultuous week in the world, whether it was riots, or financial disaster. I don’t know about you, but there is only so much that I can take of this bad news. The truth [...]

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Osama Bin Laden – Past, Present, and Future Rabbi David Baum, Congregation Shaarei Kodesh On Sunday night, I was watching television, waiting for a press conference.  Sunday night seemed odd, but I didn’t think it was going to be anything that special.  How many times do we see “Breaking News” and it something about Lindsey [...]

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Passover Sedar Memories Yizkor – 8th Day of Passover 5771/2011 Rabbi David Baum, Congregation Shaarei Kodesh There are many blessings that we have living with extended family close by. For years, we often had the same meals, with the same family members. When I was young, it seemed like nothing would ever change. But as [...]

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Passover Sedar Memories

Yizkor – 8^th Day of Passover 5771/2011

Rabbi David Baum, Congregation Shaarei Kodesh

There are many blessings that we have living with extended family close by. For years, we often had the same meals, with the same family members. When I was young, it seemed like nothing would ever change. But as time went on, we lost family. Our first major loss was my grandmother, Eta Baum, whose memorial board is now in my own shul. She died in 1989, long before my bar mitzvah, long before I even thought to become a rabbi.

My memories of her were very strong as she had a very strong personality. But, as time went on, the memories fade. This past Shabbat was her Yahrtzeit, the 19^th of Nissan.

I found myself trying to remember something that happened in 1989, when I was just 10 years old.

After our snack and learn, my cousin Aaron and his fiance came over our house for more lunch. My cousin is 25, although I always thought of his as much younger. And so I asked him, What do you remember about Grandma Eta? He said, “I remember her cooking a lot.” Of course, he was just 4 years old when she passed away. Fortunately, I had six more years with her, so I had many more memories from our visits, but I too remembered the food, but very specifics, I remember the chicken soup, how it looked, smelled, and tasted. I remember the stuffed cabbage, even to this day.

This past week, I had the honor of hosting our family for the 1^st night of our Pesach sedar. As is tradition, each family member brings a different dish, and my aunt, my grandmother’s daughter, brought over the famous stuffed cabbage. As I tasted the stuffed cabbage, my grandmother’s recipe, I thought about her. I know it’s just food, but it’s one way that I remembered her.

Pesach is a very special time for our people. Its message of freedom from bondage is timeless and has shaped us as a people even until today. It has also shaped the Western world, showing us both Jew and non-Jew that what passes for the norm of human existence, oppression by slavery, a low value on human life, is actually not the way things are supposed to be. Human beings, all human beings, are meant to be free.

The high holidays are experienced in our synagogues, Sukkot in our temporary booths, and Shavuot in the Beit Midrash (the house of study), but Pesach is at the family table. In fact, an overwhelming majority of Jews go to some form of a Pesach sedar.

We eat together, and it is the food that makes Pesach memorable. If we look at the four questions, they are based around food, what we eat tonight that is different than on all other nights.

As Jews, we have interesting commandments. Some are good deeds, but all are commandments – things we have to do or things we shouldn’t do. Some of our actions are physical such as giving tzedakah to the poor, or lighting Shabbat candles, but one ‘act’ is very interesting because it is a mental act that no one can see – Zachor – Remember.

The foods we eat are a tool to help us with this mitzvah, Zecher L’Tziat Mitzraim, the remembrance of of being taken out of Egypt. This commandment is a part of every week of our lives as Shabbat is observed in order to remember leaving Egypt.

On Pesach, we eat matzah and maror in order to trigger something within us, to wake up a deep memory that is in our blood for thousands of years. Every year, we have eaten matzah and maror, it is a part of us. This food is special. When we eat the matzah, we remember how little time our ancestors had to prepare for freedom, when we eat maror, we remember the bitterness of slavery that they endured. But these foods also relate to our own family stories. My grandmother, the one who made the stuffed cabbage, learned how to be an amazing cook when she hid as a Christian during the Holocaust. Even though it is delicious, I know that there is bitterness in it because I know her story.

One of my favorite lines in our Hagadah is found right after we introduce the idea of Matzah and Maror. We lift up these items to explain why eat them, and then our Hagadah gives us a charge:

“In every generation one is obligated to see oneself as one who personally went out from Egypt. Just as it says: “You shall tell your child on that very day: ‘It is because of this that God did for me when I went out from Egypt.” (Exodus 13:8).

How is it possible to see yourself as if you yourself left Egypt? You do it with the sacred act of remembering.

Today is the last day of Pesach. The left overs, the last semblance of our sedars are dwindling, the matzah boxes are hopefully empty; but there is something left over.

Today, we remember those loved ones who graced our sedar tables over time, but this year, were not there. Physically, they were not there, but how many of us taught others something that they learned from a grandfather who passed away? How many of us made our grandmother’s chicken soup? How many of us remembered their stories as we ate these foods? They are physically gone, but a part of them lives on.

A part of our people that are physically lost, people spanning back from thousands of years, the matzah, the maror, the Pesach, the words of the Hagadah, the songs we sing, are alive today because we actively remember them.

We come together numerous times a year to do this sacred mitzvah – Yizkor, remembrance. As long as we come together to remember them, we ensure that our people and our holy values, our customs, our way of life, will live on.

Yizkor, remembrance, is about those who have left us behind, but it’s also about you. You have to remember them – and so what will you remember about them?

Remember every aspect of them – the smell, the tastes, the sights, the words of wisdom, the touch of a warm embrace

To remember is a unique mitzvah, but there is another mitzvah that we often do not think about – how to make yourself memorable for your loved ones.

Often times, we deify our ancestors, and this goes to our grand parents, parents, etc. But when we do this, when we say that we could never be them, than we separate ourselves from them. Rather, let us look to them for guidance – how did they make themselves ever lasting to us – what were the little things that they did? The little sayings, the actions, the things that we still cherish today?

And as you leave today, what are you doing to make yourself memorable to your descendants? Perhaps this is why Yizkor is left until the final day of Pesach. We will not bring the matzah with us tomorrow, but the lessons we learn from remembering will stay with us for the entire year.

As we come together to remember our ancestors, let us take a lesson from them – be memorable – create memories for those who are alive today – your descendants – give them something to treasure, to savor, to learn from.

Our Haftarah contains the famous great vision of the Messianic Era when peace and harmony will reign supreme among all people. Because the Haftarah contains several allusions to the redemption from Egypt, it was especially chosen to be chanted on the last day of Passover.

Our final redemption will not be brought by God alone, but by us as well. Let us act in ways to do what our ancestors could not, but tried so hard to do. Let us work for our descendants, just as our ancestors did.

We ask for God’s help today to remember those who we have lost, and for tomorrow, we ask for God to help us be memorable for those who we love, just as our ancestors did for us.

Coming Back Into the Camp – Tesuvah and Richard Goldstone Delivered by Rabbi David Baum Congregation Shaarei Kodesh, Metzorah 5771/2011 Last week, I told you the story of the Rabbi and his congregant: A man saw his Rabbi leaving a BBQ place.  There was a big pig on the sign, so there was really no [...]

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Coming Back Into the Camp – Tesuvah and Richard Goldstone

Delivered by Rabbi David Baum

Congregation Shaarei Kodesh, Metzorah 5771/2011

Last week, I told you the story of the Rabbi and his congregant:

A man saw his Rabbi leaving a BBQ place.  There was a big pig on the sign, so there was really no chance that this place could be kosher.  He sees the Rabbi walking out of the restaurant with tins of food.  The Rabbi puts it into his car and drives away.

So the man turned to his phone, took a picture of the Rabbi holding the tin, and posted it on twitter with the caption “Is this kosher?” People re-tweeted back questioning their Rabbi as a Jewish spiritual leader because he eats at Sonny’s BBQ. Minutes later, the picture spread to Facebook, and was re-posted on walls by many.

Two days later, this congregant went to the webpage of his local newspaper, he saw a picture that shocked him.  It was his Rabbi, and a local priest, delivering BBQ tins to the local homeless shelter.

So the man called his Rabbi and set up a meeting.  The man showed him what he wrote and apologized.  And so the Rabbi told him he would forgive him if he did one thing.  Delete all the postings about his Rabbi – and so he did.  Then the Rabbi said, now I want you to find every instance where your words were posted, and take them down also.  Then after that, I want you to delete every instance where someone commented on his words.

“But that’s impossible!” said the congregant. So the Rabbi told his congregant, “I might forgive you, but you can never truly right your wrong.”

Lashon Harah is a big deal in Judaism. Maimonides states in his Mishneh Torah that Lashon Harah is a greater sin than idolatry, sexual indiscretions, and murder, the three worst sins in Judaism, in other words, it’s really really bad.

I want to transition to a similar blunder that made the news this week.

As many of you know, Israel and our people have been reeling since the Goldstone Report went public. In short, the Goldstone report, was a team established in April 2009 by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) during the Gaza War as an independent international fact-finding mission to investigate alleged violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law in the Palestinian territories, particularly the Gaza Strip, in connection with Operation Cast Lead. Richard Goldstone, a judge from South Africa who is also an active Jew both in his community and with Israeli organizations, was appointed to head the mission.

Israel refused to take part in the report, probably because the UNHRC has a history of being biased against Israel, and they didn’t disappoint. One “finding” that was most damaging to Israel was that the Israeli military and government intentionally targeted civilians as a matter of policy. The result of this report was evidence for the BDS movement, Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions which daily tries to damage Israel. It tried to put Hamas and the Israeli government on the same level, and in many ways, it did for many people.

Last Friday, Judge Richard Goldstone wrote an op ed in the Wall Street Journal stating that the Goldstone Report was wrong.

He wrote, “We know a lot more today about what happened in the Gaza war of 2008-09 than we did when I chaired the fact-finding mission appointed by the U.N. Human Rights Council that produced what has come to be known as the Goldstone Report. If I had known then what I know now, the Goldstone Report would have been a different document…”

He goes on to state that Hamas did intentionally target civilians with their rocket attacks, while Israel did not intentionally target civilians. He notes that Israel actually pursued and prosecuted members of their military for civilian deaths, while Hamas did nothing. He was actually surprised that Hamas did not.

Looking at this letter, I can see the psyche of one trying to clean up, to wipe the look of embarrassment on their face.

There have been many editorials this week about what Mr. Goldstone should do now. Their have been very angry letters from both sides, but most of them say one thing – he should just stop talking. Others said that there is nothing that Goldstone could do at all – the damage is irreparable – there is no way to pick up all the feathers.

But I think we are all missing a very important point.

Our parashah, Metzorah is the second part to our previous parashah, Tazria. Last week, we learned about the Lepor, the one who suffers from this physical affliction. This person had to separate oneself from the community. In our parashah this week, we learn about the next step – how this person, the one suffering from Tzarat, will come back into the community. What is interesting here is that the person does not come back into the community alone. The priest, the highest source of religious authority in Israel, must help bring him in. He does this with certain items such as two live clean birds, cedar wood, crimson stuff and hyssop. Why these things? Rashi tells us that birds are bought because the lepor is being punished for lashon harah, injurious speech, or idle chatter about other people, therefore, he must bring birds which are always chittering and chirping. Rashi asks a very important question: How can this person be restored to health? He must lower himself from his haughty pride to the level of the mundane items that he brings.

This teaches us that there is a way to come back, to become pure again, but there is a certain way to do it.

This week, we observed the Rosh Chodesh of the month of Nisan is about Kapparah, seeking atonement. There was even a custom that one would fast the day before Rosh Chodesh – this day was called Yom Kippur Katan – little Yom Kippur. On Rosh Chodesh, we say Hallel as a joyous occasion, but we often forget that Rosh Chodesh is a time when we hope that God will forgive us.

Our tradition tells us that when YK comes, the sins between God and man are forgiven, but the sins between humans are only forgiven if the sinner does tesuvah.

Mr. Goldstone began the process with his public opinion piece and we must recognize that this is the first step in doing tesuvah. He has publicly announced his mistake, and therefore lowered himself. He has directly addressed the issue – much like the lepor bringing forth the birds.

My advice to Richard Goldstone, is to look to our law, especially Maimonides for guidance. Maimonides told us about the sin of Lashon HaRah, but he also teaches us about how to come back from sin – how to purify ourselves – tesuvah.

One must regretting one’s actions, confessing the misdeed privately to God, and commit to not repeat the error in the future . In addition, any sin one person commits against another also requires rectification: make amends or repay the damages, and finally, one must ask for forgiveness.

I know what you might be thinking – Rabbi, he can never do tesuvah for what he did. We all know the story of the feathers, or the twitter posts from the first story. He may not be able to collect all the feathers, but does that mean that he should not start or even try?

Here’s my advice to Richard Goldstone – get creative – if you messed up royally, than do something big to make it right. He wrote an editorial, but I would ask him to devote his life to righting this wrong – to stand up to those who seek to boycott or sanction Israel, to those who would make Israel and the Jewish people lepers who must stand outside of the international community. He will lose friends at the UN by doing this, but it is the only way to right this wrong.

It is also a message to all of us – when we sin, we have to be big enough to humble ourselves which is the hardest thing to do. We have to devote ourselves to seeking forgiveness, as hard as it might be.

The end of the ceremony of purifying the lepor is quite beautiful. The person must take one of the birds that is left alive and let the bird fly free in the open country. The bird, the reminder of this sin, flies away from the camp. They are then shaved, bathed, and allowed to enter the camp. He must still do more acts within the camp, but, as we read, he is allowed to enter.

My hope is that Richard Goldstone works hard at repentance and devotes his life to this endeavor. My hope is that we as Jews, as a nation of priests, can act as the priest to help him achieve real atonement. That we can recognize his act of tesuvah and begin the process of welcoming him back into our camp so he can continue to work for complete atonement, Kaparah.

It is not easy to ask for forgiveness, but it’s also not easy to grant forgiveness. And yet, my hope is that we will come to a time when we have the opportunity to do what God does every Yom Kippur and grant atonement to a fellow Jew.

Etzbah Ha Rah – The Evil Finger – ©Rabbi David Baum Parashat Tazria, 5771/2011 Rabbi David Baum, Congregation Shaarei Kodesh I want to start off today’s dvar torah with a little story that might sound familiar to you.  A man saw his Rabbi leaving a BBQ place.  There was a big pig on the sign, [...]

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The Kehillot (Sacred Communities) of the Future…Today Delivered by Rabbi David Baum, Congregation Shaarei Kodesh I was recently talking to a couple who were members of another synagogue and I introduced myself as the Rabbi of Shaarei Kodesh. They told me how impressed they were with us, and then asked me an interesting question, “So [...]

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The Kehillot (Sacred Communities) of the Future…Today

Delivered by Rabbi David Baum, Congregation Shaarei Kodesh

I was recently talking to a couple who were members of another synagogue and I introduced myself as the Rabbi of Shaarei Kodesh. They told me how impressed they were with us, and then asked me an interesting question, “So when are you going to be a REAL synagogue?” I asked her, “What do you mean, a REAL synagogue, I think we already are a real synagogue. In fact, we do all the REAL things that a synagogue does.” Of course, I knew what she was referring to. She went on to say, “You know what I mean, when are you going to build a building?” As most of you know, we have been renting space since our beginnings 6 years ago. I assured her that it is something we are working on, and then we went our separate ways, in more ways than one.

Please do not take from this conversation that I judged this woman in an unfavorable light. Considering the land scape of American Judaism, she actually is the majority opinion in this debate of building versus no building.

For the past weeks, we have read a lot about building. The last parashiot of Exodus dealt with how the mishkan was to be built, the exact dimensions, materials, who gave the materials, etc.

But one really important aspect of the mishkan was left out: What do you do inside? Our Rabbis called the book Vayikra, Torat Cohanim, the Torah or instructions for the Priests, but as we learn in our Torah, we are a nation of priests. These laws not only affected those who worked in the mishkan, but all of Bnai Israel.

Nachmonides, the Ramban, a famous medieval commentator, gives us some perspective about this book. He tells us that the previous book, Exodus, is the story of our redemption from Egypt and concludes with the setting up of the Mishkan and the presence of the Lord filling the Mishkan. As we read through the book of Vayikra, we see that these sacrifices serve many purposes, but a main purpose was expiation, Kaparah, in other words, a spiritual cleaning. Ramban goes on to say that we are learning about these laws right after we read that God’s presence rested above or in the Mishkan because we want to keep God in our presence, therefore, we have to make sure that we remain ritually clean by making atonement for falling short or sinning.

The book of Exodus gave us detailed instructions on how to physically build a makom, a place for God to dwell among us, and Vayikra, the next book, continues this trend by giving detailed instructions on how to act in this makom in order to build a spiritual community.

In ancient times, we did this through animal and vegetable sacrifices, and much of this book deals with how to do this sacred acts. They are not vague ideas about the worship of God, rather, they are physical acts.

Every year, we have to make animal sacrifices relevant to a world that has moved on. Our Rabbis tell us that learning about sacrifices is a substitute for actually sacrifices, and our services, our tefillah, are called Avodat She’Balev, worship of the heart.

But is this really the only way that we let God rest upon us as God did in the Mishkan? In other words, how do we develop what our ancestors did in the wilderness, how do we establish a sacred community? I bring this question to you because we are asking these types of questions in our movement, the Conservative movement, of Judaism.

Does anyone know what is happening on March 13^th? There is a vote on the draft of the new strategic plan for the USCJ, the organization that we belong to that encompasses the total of Conservative synagogues in North America. In short, the reason for this new draft is that the synagogue business is in trouble. Over the last nine years, USCJ has lost 6% of its congregations and 14% of its membership. According to demographers, our movement is shrinking and getting older, not a good trend for the future.

But perhaps one main problem is how we look at synagogues, as businesses with a focus on building. For years, we were so interested with how our congregations looked, how our rabbis and lay people dressed, the size of our budgets, but did not pay attention to the holy work inside the synagogues.

This book of Leviticus, which speaks about sacrifices is so foreign to us, but the work that goes in our synagogues today is just as foreign to many Jews out there in the world!

These sacrifices, the work that went on in the Mishkan, were a part of who we were, it was our center. To us, animal sacrifice is bloody, barbaric, messy, too physical, and scary. It is violent and it is primitive. But do you know what else is like that: our world.

With the advent of television and internet, we are able to see the bloody messes of this world on a minute by minute basis.

But even getting beyond that, our own lives are not neat and clean. I love asking people, how are things, and hearing the answer, good. I think deep down, you hope the other person says good so you don’t have to hear about the problems people go through because it’s a downer, and deep down, you say good even if it isn’t because you are scared to open up to people. And so we go through our lives in a neat way, just good.

Our sacrifices might have been a way to acknowledge that there is a tremendous amount of disorder in the world that deeply troubles us, but we come together as a spiritual community to bring order into the world just as God did when God created the earth.

And this is what we need to do as kehillot, the new name that the USCJ would like to call us. The new focus is not on buildings, but on communities. More and more, we are seeing young people in their 20′s and 30′s in urban centers with many synagogues shy away from them and create their own minyanim that focus on inspiring and meaningful prayer, life-long learning, and religious and spiritual growth. They meet where they can and turn the places they meet into holy places because of the work that they do.

I believe that this sacred community, Kehillat Shaarei Kodesh, shares that same vision, that is why we are here.

When someone asks you, when are you going to become a REAL synagogue, what do you say to them? A space is a space. I have been to abandoned synagogues in Poland with magen davids and menorahs hung around the room, and beautiful paintings, but no Jews to worship inside. A space without true Avodat She’balev, worship of the heart, is not holy.

That is what a REAL synagogue, the synagogue of the 21^st Century must be in order to survive and thrive.

We might be small in number, but we have a duty to inspire the rest of the community to follow our lead. This can be a place where God dwells among us not only in prayer, but in social action, in the smachot of important events in our lives, during tough times in hospitals and shiva houses, in Torah study for people of all ages, and in social events. We can be a place where you can truly tell people how you feel, and have someone listen with real care and compassion.

I know that there are many important issues that I could have discussed today. What is the Jewish response to what is going on in Libya, in Wisconsin, or Charlie Sheen? These are all important issues, that should be discussed, and we will be discussing these issues for weeks and months to come as they are not going away, although hopefully Charlie Sheen will.

But the issue that we have to deal with is how to get our own house in order. How are we going to build communities that are authentic, compelling, relevant, and holy for the Jews out there and in here?

Our Rabbis call this book Torat Kohanim, but the real name in this book is Vayikra, He Called Out. Rashi tells us that this term, to call out, implies affection. God called out to Moses to come towards Him, and God is still calling out to all of us to come towards Him, Le-haKriv, to come to the center, together, to worship and enrich our lives with the holiness that God offers.

It is our task to listen closely to that call, to come forward, and to lead others toward the center.

Va-yakhel – Delivered by Rabbi David Baum Those Who Can Do Teach There is a famous quote, “Those who can – do. Those who can’t – teach.” Woody Allen added on to the this quote, “Those who can do – do, those who can’t teach, and those who can’t teach – teach gym.” This quote [...]

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Stand Up To Be Counted: Ki Tissa (Bat Mitzvah of Ruby Rader) Delivered by Rabbi David Baum Our Bnai Mitzvahs are told to do many things, read this, bless that, say this, and say that.  But rarely are they allowed to ask questions.  So today, I have asked Ruby to ask me a Jewish question [...]

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Tetzaveh:  A Light Unto the Nations: Now and Forever… Delivered by Rabbi David Baum A couple of weeks ago, I gave a Dvar Torah where I asked you,”If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?” As we know, sound is one sense that [...]

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Last week, we invited the Palm Beach Homeless Coalition to give a presentation to our congregation about being homeless in Palm Beach County. One of our speakers, David, was a formerly homeless person. As he was telling his story, he stopped and looked at our children, and told them repeatedly, “Kids, listen to your parents, [...]

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B’Shalach – delivered by Rabbi David Baum This has been a week of tragedies, and if not tragedies, it has been the anniversary of tragedy. Last Shabbat, while we were in the midst of our Shacharit service, a gunmen opened fire on a crowd attempting to assassinate a congress-woman, Gabrielle Giffords, and in doing so, [...]

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Who is a Jew? Parashat Shmot, 5771/2010 Delivered by Rabbi David Baum, Congregation Shaarei Kodesh I have often told you about my travels while I was a student at JTS. One trip I took was staffing a trip of college students to the Ukraine through the JDC, the Joint Distribution Committee. On our trip, we [...]

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Heroes – Parashat Vayigash Delivered by Rabbi David Baum, Congregation Shaarei Kodesh 2010/5771 I have often spoke about who we revere in our society; our heroes. A recent oleh from America, Yossi Katz, wrote a book on Jewish heroes called “A Voice Called” taken from a title of a poem by Hannah Szenes, the famous [...]

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Hanukiah: Sign or Symbol? Parashat Miketz, Delivered by Rabbi David Baum, Congregation Shaarei Kodesh It is a famous question that the Talmud asks.  What is this holiday?  We ask this because it is confusing. There are so many different takes to why we celebrate this holiday, from the overly Godly to the completely secular. The [...]

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Thanksgiving and Peace? Delivered by Rabbi David Baum, Vayeshev 2010/5771 When many of us think about Thanksgiving, we often think about the turkey, mashed potatoes, football, and another annual activity: the family fights. I read an interesting article in the Huffington Post about an alternative Thanksgiving holiday. Instead of being with family, take a destination [...]

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Toledot: Sharing the Blessing Delivered by Rabbi David Baum, Congregation Shaarei Kodesh All of us stand here yet again, witnesses to a clash of two great powers, two great parties, that seem so different. It seems like a clear choice between the two, you cannot mistake one for the other. We read in our parashah [...]

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Chayei Sarah – Prayer, Doubt, and Conversation Delivered by Rabbi David Baum In our Theology 101 class, we have something called a Doubt Box. In this box, we have a couple key phrases such as, “most of the time, some of the time, all of the time….” and you fill in your own doubt. For [...]

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Vayera 2010 The Jewish Way of Welcoming Parashat Va’yera 2010/5771 Delivered by Rabbi David Baum, Congregation Shaarei Kodesh At a recent Board of Rabbis meeting, one of the Rabbis lamented a cliché that is going around. Every shul claims to be more welcoming than the next. One shul even had a high holiday advertisement: If [...]

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A People Of “The Land” Parashat Lech Lecha 5771/2010 Delivered by Rabbi David Baum, Congregation Shaarei Kodesh We are often called the People of the Book. For thousands of years, we have been identified with the Bible, a people who have been connected with a story. We lived for a time in the land, but [...]

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