‘Sermons’ Category

Sermons

September 12, 2018
By Beth Mordecai
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Rosh Hashanah Day 2 Sermon

[caption id="attachment_9704" align="alignright" width="318"] God’s presence surrounds us every moment.[/caption] When I was in my last year of graduate school, I worked at a synagogue in Malibu, CA.  I would drive through cities, streets lined with strip malls turning onto a highway, then to narrow roads surrounded by brush and no cell service.   My car would finally climb up the last hill and I would be overlooking the gorgeous Pacific Ocean before driving down to sea level.  The view was incredible…the first time. After a couple of weeks, I was distracted making a to-do list in my head as I approached my job.  After the first month, I almost didn’t notice the view.  I then decided that I was missing something[...]

Category : High Holidays Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Rosh Hashanah Sermons

Sermons


By Beth Mordecai
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Rosh Hashanah Day 1 Sermon

How many of you have called out to a loved one and used the wrong name? Did you have a dog or cat growing up and was accidentally called their name by your parents? Growing up I would sometimes hear: Donna, Steve, Rusty, Samantha I mean Sara come here. When my father would call me my mother or brother’s name it wasn’t so bad, when he got to the cat or dog’s names… I didn’t love it.  Then my father would look at me and say, well you know who you are.  Like my father, I do this too. I cycle through the kids’ names before landing on the correct one.  I too then look at the child I’m calling and declare, “Well[...]

Category : High Holidays Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Rosh Hashanah Sermons

Sermons


By Beth Mordecai
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Erev Rosh Hashanah Sermon

King Solomon challenged his wisest advisors to find him a ring that when worn could make a person cherish their joy and bring comfort in their sadness.  The advisor searched high and low. With the deadline to the challenge approaching, the advisor went to the local market where he found ring with the following words engraved on it, “Gam ze ya’avor. This, too, shall pass.” King Solomon was delighted that his advisor had completed this seemingly impossible task. He saw when he was melancholy, the message on the ring would comfort him and remind him of sunnier days ahead. When he was at the height of contentment, the ring would humble him and remind him of life’s fleeting nature. Legend has[...]

Category : High Holidays Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Rosh Hashanah Sermons

Sermons

October 5, 2014
By bethmordecai
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Yom Kippur Day 5775 Sermon — A Moving Tradition

A Moving Tradition Yom Kippur Day 5775 – October 4, 2014* Rabbi Ari Saks Congregation Beth Mordecai   A week ago today, on a quiet Shabbat between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur a small group of Jews gathered at Beth Mordecai in Perth Amboy, NJ to schmooze, to learn, and to drink some schnapps. In addition to the laughs and the cajoling needed to convince everyone around the table that it was ok to drink before noon, we had some really interesting conversations about our shul and about Judaism in general. One comment that spurred some interesting discussion was when one of our community members, let’s call him David, said “I think that Judaism or all of religion for that matter is about comfort.” As[...]

Category : Rabbi Ritual Practice Sermons Yom Kippur
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Sermons


By bethmordecai
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Kol Nidre 5775 Sermon — Forgetting Justice for the Sake of Forgiveness

Forgetting Justice for the Sake of Forgiveness Kol Nidre 5775 – October 3, 2014* Rabbi Ari Saks Congregation Beth Mordecai There is a famous midrash (Masekhet Rosh Hashanah, 17b) in which Moses is standing atop Mt. Sinai about to greet God for the very first time. When God arrives, Moses does not see God’s face but rather a figure wrapped in a beautiful Tallit. God then brings Moses into God’s Tallit and declares: “Moses. I will show you how to lead the people of Israel in prayer.” And as God teaches Moses how to lead the Israelites in prayer, God also teaches him a secret. “Moses, whenever Israel sins, let them recite the following words before Me, and I will forgive them.” And then[...]

Category : Israeli News Jewish Current Events Rabbi Sermons Yom Kippur
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Sermons

September 30, 2014
By bethmordecai
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Rosh Hashanah 5775 Sermon — Let Us Sing Our Songs Together

Let Us Sing Our Songs Together Rosh Hashanah 5775 – September, 25 2014* Rabbi Ari Saks Congregation Beth Mordecai   Picture this. You are an Israelite in approximately 1600 BCE. You, your family, and your people have just escaped the torture and slavery of the Egyptians with the help of God and Moses, and as you turn back from reaching the other side of the Red Sea , you hear the deafening, vicious sound of waves devouring your Egyptian pursuers, until the last of them are no longer seen. You stand there aghast, not knowing what to say…you are free! After a moment or two of reality sinking in, you feel this overwhelming urge to shout out for joy. To sing praises of thanksgiving, of joy,[...]

Category : Rabbi Rosh Hashanah Sermons
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Sermons

June 3, 2014
By bethmordecai
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Sermon for Cantor Showcase of Unique Torah — Our Unique and Godly Torah

*Sermon for Friday night of "Cantor Showcase of Unique Torah" (Shabbat prior to Shavuot) – May 30, 2014  Our Unique and Godly Torah Rabbi Ari Saks Some of you may remember a story my father told during my installation on this same bimah over a year and a half ago. I was a little boy in Benton Harbor and my father and I had just come back from shul on Simhat Torah. As we approached home I started making a frantic pointing motion in a not-so-specific direction (with the requisite grunting of a child). So my father, in attempting to respond my neediness, took me on a walk trying to follow my random pointing. Eventually we ended up back at shul where my pointing got[...]

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Sermons

April 13, 2014
By bethmordecai
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Sermon for Shabbat Hagadol (April 12, 2014): Faith In Words

Faith in Words Sermon for Shabbat Hagadol (April 12th 2014) Rabbi Ari Saks Congregation Beth Mordecai Once there was a king who ruled many kingdoms, yet no matter how much wealth he amassed, no matter how many people he helped, he never felt at peace. His mind raced in so many different directions he could never feel as if he was in the right place at the right time. When he was sad he wanted to be happy, and for some reason when he was happy, he wanted to be sad. Well, he thought, if my mind is never at peace then neither should my kingdom. So he set about making every part of his kingdom the opposite of what it should be –[...]

Category : Cantorial Showcase home Passover Rabbi Sermons Shabbat
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Sermons

March 18, 2014
By bethmordecai
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Homecoming Sermon: “I am a Beth Mordecai Jew” – Responding to the Command to Be Jewish

Rabbi Ari Saks *Sermon for Shabbat Zahor/Parashat Tzav – March 15, 2016 Beth Mordecai Homecoming Weekend  In 2002, Jewish journalist Daniel Pearl was brutally murdered by militants in Pakistan. In addition to the sadness and pain felt in hearing the first reports of his murder, there was also a hint of hope, a taste of truth because with his last three words Daniel Pearl spoke a prideful and confident claim that resonates through eternity: I am Jewish. In the years since his death this confident claim of Jewish identity, of saying proudly I am Jewish, has unified the Jewish people to the point that, despite our many and vast differences, 94% of us in America say that we are proud to be Jewish according[...]

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