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Archive of Past Sermons

About the Archive

Sometimes a sermon is so powerful that we may want to refer back to it in the future. Or perhaps you missed a service that you heard was particularly interesting and want to read the sermon yourself! We hope you find this archive of past sermons to be useful.

Quick Links:

High Holy Days 2021 Sermons

Erev Rosh HaShanah - There's a Place for You - Engage with Shir Hadash

Yizkor Sermon - Yizkor: Why We Remember

2020/2021 General Sermons

May 17, 2021, by Rabbi Aron

Shavuot Yizkor 2021

May 15, 2021, by Rabbi Aron

In the Middle

December 26, 2020, by Rabbi Aron

Two Pockets

December 19, 2020, by Rabbi Aron

Bat Mitzvah Firsts

December 18, 2020, by Rabbi Aron

Red and Blue Together

December 12, 2020, by Rabbi Aron

Models for Adult Jews

December 4, 2020, by Rabbi Aron

Rabbi’s Remarks at Farewell Service

November 24, 2020, by Rabbi Aron

Can We Celebrate?

November 20, 2020, by Rabbi Aron

Welcoming New Members to the Congregation

November 14, 2020, by Rabbi Aron

If Ishmael and Isaac Can Come Together

November 7, 2020, by Rabbi Aron

Justice More than Fairness

October 10, 2020, by Rabbi Aron

Reciting Yizkor on Simchat Torah

October 3, 2020, by Rabbi Aron

What the Sukkah Teaches Us

High Holy Days 2020 Sermons

Slichot - Jewish Guilt

Erev Rosh HaShanah - 

Rosh HaShanah - Waiting Isn’t Easy

Rosh HaShanah - 

Kol Nidre - From This Yom Kippur to Next Yom Kippur

Yom Kippur Morning - Pursuing Justice

2019/2020 General Sermons

September 12, 2020, by Rabbi Aron

The Last Commandment in the Torah

September 5, 2020, by Rabbi Aron

What If We Really Meant It

September 4, 2020, by Rabbi Aron

One of the Most Dramatic Moments

August 29, 2020, by Rabbi Aron

Final Kindness

August 22, 2020, by Rabbi Aron

If They Tell You That Right Is Left

August 21, 2020, by Rabbi Aron

Justice, Justice Shall You Pursue

August 15, 2020, by Rabbi Aron

Sorting Our Blessings and Curses

August 14, 2020, by Rabbi Aron

The Talmud’s Recent Popularity

August 8, 2020, by Rabbi Aron

What Threatens Our Faith Most

August 1, 2020, by Rabbi Aron

Spiritual Transformation Occasioned by a Plague

July 31, 2020, by Rabbi Aron

Rules and Outcomes (PDF)

July 25, 2020, by Rabbi Aron

Were the Prophets Catastrophizers? (PDF)

July 17, 2020, by Rabbi Aron

Progress (PDF)

July 11, 2020, by Rabbi Aron

Turning the Tide (PDF)

July 10, 2020, by Rabbi Aron

The Dangers of Relativism (PDF)

June 27, 2020, by Rabbi Aron

Judges v Joshua (PDF)

June 26, 2020, by Rabbi Aron

We Love our Seniors (PDF)

June 19, 2020, by Rabbi Aron

There’s No Going Back (PDF)

June 13, 2020, by Rabbi Aron

Presenting Issues (PDF)

June 6, 2020, by Rabbi Aron

Must You Protest? (PDF)

May 30, 2020, by Rabbi Aron

Moderation Is Tricky (PDF)

May 29, 2020 (Shabbat), by Rabbi Aron

Why Religion? Why Art? (PDF)

May 29, 2020 (Yizkor), by Rabbi Aron

Giving in Memory of Our Loved Ones (PDF)

May 28, 2020, by Rabbi Aron

True Freedom: Message to Confirmands (PDF)

May 22, 2020, by Rabbi Schwartz

Wandering in the COVID Desert (PDF)

May 15, 2020, by Rabbi Aron

Health or Prosperity? (PDF)

May 8, 2020, by Rabbi Schwartz

Living this Life (PDF)

May 1, 2020, by Rabbi Schwartz

Finding the Holy (PDF)

April 17, 2020, by Rabbi Aron

OK Boomer (PDF)

April 15, 2020, by Rabbi Aron

Aaron's Loss and our Own Losses (PDF)

April 11, 2020, by Rabbi Aron

Counting the Days (PDF)

April 9, 2020, by Rabbi Aron

The Amazing Haggadah (PDF)

March 28, 2020, by Rabbi Aron

Can-Do Spirit in an Unsettled Time (PDF)

March 27, 2020, by Rabbi Aron

Rituals That Anchor Us in Time and Place (PDF)

March 21, 2020, by Rabbi Aron

Shabbat in Strange Times (PDF)

March 20, 2020, by Rabbi Aron

Lighting the Fire in Our Hearts (PDF)

February 1, 2020, by Rabbi Schwartz

Where Is Your Spiritual Center? (PDF)

November 22, 2019, by Rabbi Schwartz

UNO at Thanksgiving (PDF)

November 17, 2019, by Rabbi Schwartz

Amidst the Fire (PDF)

November 2, 2019, by Rabbi Aron

The Surprising Words of a Bush Republican (PDF)

October 26, 2019, by Rabbi Aron

All I Really Needed to Know I Learned from Being a Grandmother (PDF)

October 25, 2019, by Rabbi Aron

Live Forever (PDF)

October 19, 2019, by Rabbi Aron

What Is Home (PDF)

October 21, 2019, by Rabbi Aron

Who Is Solomon Teka? (PDF)

October 11, 2019, by Rabbi Aron

Mental Illness Is Not a Sin (PDF)

September 20, 2019, by Rabbi Schwartz

Jewels of Elul (PDF)

September 14, 2019, by Rabbi Aron

Do Not Hide Yourself (PDF)

September 13, 2019, by Rabbi Aron

Upcoming Israeli Election (PDF)

High Holy Days 2019 Sermons

Erev Rosh HaShanah - Won't You Be My Neighbor?

Rosh HaShanah - Torah and Haftorah Introductions

Rosh HaShanah - Loving Hebrew

Kol Nidre - Anti-Semitism: What a Difference One Year Can Make

Yom Kippur Morning - Choosing your Tikkun

2018/2019 General Sermons

September 7, 2019, by Rabbi Aron

Legal But Not Fair (PDF)

August 24, 2019, by Rabbi Aron

Words of Comfort (PDF)

August 9, 2019, by Rabbi Aron

Tisha b'Av through Josephus's Eyes (PDF)

August 2, 2019, by Rabbi Aron

Black Judaism (PDF)

July 21, 2019, by Rabbi Schwartz

Our Seder Plate Traditions (PDF)

July 20, 2019, by Rabbi Aron

Women in Politics (PDF)

July 19, 2019, by Rabbi Aron

The Mystery of Memorization (PDF)

July 12, 2019, by Rabbi Schwartz

Elie Wiesel’s Legacy (PDF)

May 18, 2019, by Rabbi Schwartz

Remembering Rabbi Panken (PDF)

April 5, 2019, by Rabbi Schwartz

Juneteenth (PDF)

November 11, 2018, by Rabbi Aron

Privacy (PDF)

November 9, 2018, by Rabbi Aron

What to do about Anti-Semitism (PDF): Building positive identity as Americans—an identity that comes from a sense of shared mission and values, and not from denigrating others—will help overcome prejudice of many types.

October 19, 2018, by Rabbi Aron

The Generation of the Candles (PDF): This year Yitzchak Rabin’s yahrzeit will have a special poignancy for me as I think of those who were teenagers back in 1995 and whose hopes for peace were dashed in such an abrupt and brutal way. As they lit candles to light the way forward, so may we with our own lives be a light that shows a path to a better and more peaceful world.

October 13, 2018, by Rabbi Aron

Somewhere Over the Rainbow (PDF): Today the rainbow is a very positive symbol. We think of “somewhere over the rainbow” as being a place of peace and harmony. It was a cantor’s son, Harold Arlen, born Hyman Arlick, who in 1939, as the clouds of war were gathering over Europe, wrote the song “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” thus winning the Academy Award that year for best song.

October 12, 2018, by Rabbi Aron

What's Religion Good For? (PDF): Many people have commented to me that the customs associated with Jewish mourning—shivah, Kaddish, and having people gather—fill very real human needs during a time of
intense grief and emotional need. Religious experiences enhance our connections and train us in empathy and compassion.

October 6, 2018, by Rabbi Aron

How We Fall Into Sin (PDF): Rabbi Kushner says that we often think about love the way we think about food on a buffet table. If we see someone else taking more, then we fear that there won’t be enough for us. Instead, he urges us to think about love as a muscle: the more we practice at being loving, the more love there is.

High Holy Days 2018 Sermons 

2017/2018 General Sermons

August 25, 2018, by Rabbi Aron

Who is Responsible? (PDF): We cannot use the behavior of others as an excuse for our own behavior. No one makes us so angry that we can’t help but lash out. Likewise, we are not compelled to obey when others tell us to do something wrong.

August 24, 2018, by Rabbi Schwartz

What if? (PDF): We can fight stigma by acknowledging that we see a therapist. People say they have an appointment with their primary care doctor and feel no fear of being judged. Why don’t we feel the same lack of fear when it comes to mental health professionals? We can fight stigma by not having stigma for ourselves—by not hiding from this world in shame, but by being proud of who we are, warts and all.

August 17, 2018, by Rabbi Schwartz

Righteousness We Shall Pursue (PDF): When we recite the words of the Un’taneh Tokef, reading the words, “U’teshuvah, u’tefillah, u’tzedakah ma’avirin ro’ah ha-gezerah,” tzedakah may not refer simply to charitable giving, but it may suggest that we give to ourselves that which we are instructed to give to others: fair judgment.

August 3, 2018, by Rabbi Aron

Shame Then And Now (PDF): Being known for acting with mercy and bestowing kindness are definitely badges we wear with pride. But perhaps being able to experience shame is also a credit to our communal character.

July 20, 2018, by Rabbi Schwartz

Power of Words (PDF)

June 22, 2018, by Rabbi Schwartz

Zero Tolerance Zero Compassion (PDF)

April 7, 2018, by Rabbi Schwartz

Me Too (PDF)

March 23, 2018, by Rabbi Schwartz

Shabbat Hagadol (PDF)

December 8, 2017, by Rabbi Schwartz

Star Wars and Hanukkah (PDF): A long time ago in a place far, far away…It is a period of civil war. A new government has declared the practice of the old faith a crime punishable by death, disbanding an ancient order of sages and sending many into exile. Rebel fighters, striking from a hidden base, have won their first major victory against the evil Empire, stirring a spirit of defiance among the populace. Out armed and vastly outnumbered, the ragtag band of rebels—aided by an all-powerful, all-permeating Force that binds together all life in the universe—remain the only hope for restoring peace and freedom to their people.

High Holy Days 2017 Sermons

Mon, March 18 2024 8 Adar II 5784