Sermons Archive

Shoftim: Don’t Be Like Them

If you drive on Highway 395 through one of the valleys that carved the eastern edge of California, you’ll arrive at the City of Lone Pine. The road is flat and straight, with towering hills on either side of the valley. You’ll come across Diaz Lake on your left, a few...

Ki Teitzei – Double Portion to What is Right

My grandfather used to smoke a few packs of cigarettes a day for most of his life. I know I shouldn’t have, but I loved the smell of his cigarettes, even though I knew they were harmful. Nonetheless, I would ask, “grandpa, when are you going to stop smoking?” And he...

Eikev – Emotional Fires

I have to do some teshuvah, some repentance. We are fast approaching the month of Elul, which immediately precedes Rosh Hashanah. During Elul, we are supposed to prepare ourselves for performing teshuvah so that by the time Rosh Hashanah arrives, we are ready to...

Chukim and Mr. Rogers

What was your first concert? Mine was Mr. Rogers. I saw him somewhere in Culver City, or maybe it was Westchester. I don’t remember because I was only five or six years old at the time, seven at the latest. I’ve been thinking about Fred Rogers lately because of...

Nation-State Law

1 — Basic principles The land of Israel is the historical homeland of the Jewish people, in which the State of Israel was established. The right to exercise national self-determination in the State of Israel is unique to the Jewish people. 2 — The symbols of the state...