See below a snippet from Rabbi Josh’s sermons over the years.
Want to read more? Click on the title of any to get the full text.
Shabbat Shalom! !שבת שלום
I was recently at a full-service gas station in St. James. I pulled up next to the pump, and out of the small building emerged a young man, maybe 20 years old- and he began pumping gas into my car. He was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, it was early in the morning, rainy and […]
It was 11:03 PM, and I was still staring at chapter 38 of Genesis. I had spent hours poring over the text, looking through commentaries, even annoyingly nudging Meghan when Rashi or Rambam weren’t cutting it to get her opinion; all while she was trying to lesson-plan for the upcoming kindergarten week. I have to […]
We are all in the middle of a match. Parsha Vayishlach is probably most famous for its description of Jacob’s wrestling match. While Jacob is alone, fearing for his family as his angry brother approaches, one of the most famous encounters in all of Torah takes place. Jacob wrestles with an “ish,” or a man […]
This week’s Torah portion is called “Chayei Sarah,” or “The life of Sarah.” The strange thing about this title is that the portion begins with the death of Sarah at the age of 127 years old. We then hear of her husband Abraham’s purchase of a burial plot in the cave of Machpelah. Later, we […]
This week, we are introduced to parsha Vayeira, which contains the deeply troubling account of the Akeidah, or the Binding of Isaac. We read this section of Torah on Rosh Hashanah, and it is commonly a difficult bit of text to wrestle with for so many people. The idea of Abraham, our first patriarch, so […]
On Rosh Hashanah it is written, and on Yom Kippur it is sealed. Throughout our High Holy Days, our liturgy puts this phrase on repeat. On Rosh Hashanah this year, we talked about what happened in Israel on October 7th, 2023. We revisited and visited the collective trauma that much of the Jewish world is […]
I was just talking about blue cars, and now I see them everywhere! Have we ever had something like this happen to us? The frequency illusion can often lead to the equally deceptive recency illusion. This cognitive bias can make us believe that something we have only recently become aware of is actually a new […]
Shana Tovah and a Happy New Year to all of you friends and family. I hope you feel welcome and at home here at Temple Isaiah. I want to express to you something right away as we begin these holiest of days and the moments that will define them, together: I am glad you are […]
Turn your eyes From the skies now Turn around and look at me There’s a light In my eyes now And a word for what you see I was a boy soprano at 11 years old. For those not familiar, a soprano is the highest voice part in the world of singing.I knew that I […]
The year is 2004. I am sitting in my crowded dorm room in the Back Bay of Boston. A single room shared by four people; three music theater majors, and a viola major crowded together. “Mom, I am leaving Boston, I have to move to New York City to go to acting school.” Next, “Mom, […]
