Gay and Lesbian Marriage

Emor 5772--Volunteer Appreciation Shabbat:

It's What You Give

By Rabbi Samuel M. Cohon 

Apparently May is Jewish Heritage Month in America, something I didn’t actually know until I read it last week.  This commemoration has been around since 2006, when it was started as a way of celebrating the 350^th Anniversary of American Judaism by the Jewish Museum of South Florida, proclaimed by Congress in 2005 and 2006, and signed into law by then President George W. Bush.  This time around President Obama celebrated the "shared struggle" of Jewish identity in proclaiming Jewish Heritage Month, issuing a proclamation last week that celebrated the perseverance of Jewish Americans in overcoming adversity and hostility in order to reach success in America. READ MORE 

Tzav/Shabbat HaGadol 5772: Getting Rid of Chametz

By Rabbi Samuel M. Cohon 

Many congregants would no doubt prefer that we used the Eastern European model of how the rabbis used to preach at Shabbat services.  Allow me to explain. Where so many of our ancestors came from in the “Old Country” it was not common for the rabbi to preach a sermon every week.  In fact, in most congregations the rabbi preached just two sermons a year: one on Shabbat Shuvah, between Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur, and one on Shabbat HaGadol, the Sabbath prior to Passover.  Being a traditional place, the subject of these two sermons was always fixed.  READ MORE  

Ki Tisa 5772: Rebellion, the Jewish Act

By Rabbi Samuel M. Cohon

A Jewish friend of mine was telling me yesterday about his peculiar experience working for an organization that is run by the Quakers.  It seems that the way that Quaker groups work is that each and every decision has to be made by consensus.  If anyone disagrees, the whole group has to wait until everyone comes to complete agreement.  The only way around this is for the person who disagrees to publicly proclaim that he or she stands aside.   READ MORE  

Tetzaveh/Zachor 5772: Forgetting in Order to Remember

God does not seem to need a Sanctuary at all. So why build it? I mean, that’s a lot to ask of the Israelites. Not only do they have to build it, they also have to pay for it, and then they need to do all the grocery shopping and cooking for the rest of time. The late Israeli Rabbi Pinchas Peli wrote that part of the purpose was “to convert the people from passive participants in their relationships with the Lord, as constant recipients of His gifts, into active partners.”  READ MORE 

Yitro 5772: Being Commanded for Reform Jews

by Rabbi Samuel M. Cohon    

Having just survived Super Bowl Sunday last week, we are headed for the Oscar season—the telecast takes place in a couple of weeks—in which we get to find out what the best picture was last year, who the best actor and actress were, which director did the best job, and so on.   READ MORE  

Shemot 5772: In Praise of Great Men

by Rabbi Samuel M. Cohon    

There is a passage early in our Torah portion of Shmot this week in which the Pharaoh of Egypt, the great villain of our portion, raises the “Jewish problem” for the first time in history.  The children of Israel are becoming too numerous and successful, too many and too mighty for we Egyptians, he tells his people, rav v’atzum mimenu.  We must find a way to stop them! READ MORE 

Shemot 5772 Northwest Shabbat: Who or What Defines Us? 

by Rabbi Jason Holtz   

It’s great to be back here in the Northwest for Shabbat with all of you.
Many of you know that I was gone for the last few months and many of you know that it was for a brain injury.   READ MORE 

Hanukkah 5772: I Could (Almost) Have Died

by Rabbi Jason Holtz   

It’s such a pleasure to be on this bimah, speaking here for the first time in almost two months.  This is a wonderful congregation that is so caring and supportive.  There is a special mitzvah that every rabbi tries to follow.    READ MORE  

Vayigash 5772: Happy New Year?

by Rabbi Samuel M. Cohon  

Tonight marks the final Shabbat of 2011, which means that Sunday morning it will be January 1st of 2012, a bright shining beginning to one of my 12 favorite months of the American calendar.   READ MORE 

Ki Teitzei 5771: What 9/11 Is Not - And What it Is

by Rabbi Samuel M. Cohon 

Ki Teitzei, our Torah portion this Shabbat, ends with the statement, Zachor et asher asa lecha Amalek, “Remember what Amalek did to you when you came out of Egpyt, attacking your innocents by deceit.  Never forget…” It is an appropriate portion to read this weekend of the 10th Anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in 2001, a strong reminder to remember that terrible day. READ MORE
 

Ekev 5771: Bad Things, Good People, and the One True Reward

by Rabbi Samuel M. Cohon 

I was asked this week by a bar mitzvah student just what the difference is between commandment, mitzvah, and covenant, berit.  And I explained that commanded mitzvot are ethical acts we are ordered to fulfill, while covenant, berit, is a kind of sacred contract, a deal we make with God: if we do this, then God will do that.    READ MORE 

Va'etchanan 5771: Ain't No Mountain High Enough

Last week I had the privilege of serving as camp rabbi at the Wilshire Boulevard Temple Camps in the Los Angeles area.  READ MORE  

Devarim 5771: Moses and Personal Growth

My wife Jodi, who is here tonight, and who I’m pretty sure loves it when I start a sermon talking about her, and by loves it, I mean hates it, is a teacher in the Catalina Foothills School District.   READ MORE  

Masei 5771: Life After Death in Baseball

At a recent Temple softball game one of our players hit a little dribbler to short, and while sprinting down the line shouted “Hell!”   READ MORE  

Matot 5771: The Very First Synagogue in the World

by Rabbi Samuel M. Cohon
This morning driving to work we saw a rainbow.  That is never an unusual thing here in a Tucson summer, filled with monsoons and lightning and storms.   READ MORE  

Pinchas 5771: Synagogues, Here, There and Everywhere

by Rabbi Samuel M. Cohon 

As some of you know, Wendy and I just returned from a trip to Europe, where we had a variety of interesting Jewish experiences.  READ MORE  

The Kurn Religious School

In the last couple of weeks, I have witnessed numerous individuals step up to voice their support for Jewish education.  READ MORE

How a Jewish Community Must Be

The abiding lesson is that a Judaism that doesn’t base itself in humility and reverence for God, and which is focused on personal gain and power politics, will fail.     READ MORE   

Humility

Israel -- Stop Worrying So Much

By Rabbi Samuel M. Cohon 

There are some times when there is simply too much to talk about, even for a rabbi known for talking, in one sermon.   READ MORE  

A Pull to the Past, a Push into the Future

By Rabbi Jason Holtz 

The future beckons with many promises, but we still benefit by learning from traditional wisdom.  READ MORE  

Welcoming Interfaith Families

By Rabbi Jason Holtz 

Interfaith families have always been part of the Jewish people.    READ MORE