“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.” Everyone knows the famous words that open America’s Declaration of Independence. But are these truths self-evident? There have been civilizations, such as ancient Egypt, that believed certain people, such as their rulers, were gods. This week we start again the annual cycle...
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As I write this I am at sea, on my way home to Israel from Egypt (via Rome, which admittedly is the long way, but it’s the route that Herod followed as well). It is also the holiday of Sukkot, which the Torah tells us, “That your generations may know that I made the...
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I spent all of Yom Kippur last year in a hospice in Denver, Colorado. In an institution filled with people who were dying, one of whom was my mother. It was the most profound Yom Kippur experience I’ve ever had in my life; more than that, it was certainly the deepest spiritual experience I’ve...
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On Yom Kippur we read the story of Jonah, the reluctant prophet who fled from his God-assigned mission on a ship, was tossed overboard, and spent three days inside a big fish before God decided to give him another chance. So naturally, the story of Jonah makes a very appropriate subject for a sermon...
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