Tag Yom Kippur

Probabilities Don’t Hug You Back: A Neilah Sermon for a World Without Guarantees

This Neilah sermon begins with a story from the town of Chelm, where a drought has caused a crisis of faith, and the people demand proof that God is listening. Into this debate steps Jossele, who argues that while he can't be certain about God, he knows that a life of kindness, forgiveness, and charity is a good life in itself. This sets the stage for the final, honest hour of Yom Kippur, when we must choose how to live without guarantees. The sermon is a call to live with "doubt in the head, faithfulness in the hands" , holding our values high even when the future is unknown and letting our hearts lead us through the gates.

The Town of Stopped Clocks: A Kol Nidrei Message on Forgiveness and Time

This sermon for Kol Nidrei begins with a story of a town where every clock is stopped at the precise moment of a deep personal hurt. This powerful metaphor explores how we all carry "stopped clocks" in our own hearts—frozen moments of resentment where we have defined ourselves, and others, by their worst mistakes. The service of Kol Nidrei and the work of teshuvah (turning) are presented as the spiritual keys to restarting time. This is a message not about forgetting the past, but about finding the courage to believe that change is possible, to allow our stories to move forward, and to take the small, brave step of winding just one clock.

Yom Kippur: A day of hope

And this shall be to you a law for all time: In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls [teannu et nafshoteichem]; and you shall do no manner of work, neither the…