Here’s a joke: It was the middle of Shabbat morning services, and the rabbi noticed that old Irv Cohen was asleep in the third row. So he elbowed the Temple President and said, “Cohen is asleep again. Go wake him up!” The President answered: “That’s not fair.” So the rabbi replied, “What do you mean?Continue reading “More Than Words: A Sermon for D’varim 5775”
Tag Archives: Jewish Family
Building an Inclusive Jewish Community
Both as a rabbi and as a parent, it is important to me that Judaism be inclusive of people with special needs. Today, more and more, young people who have Autism, Aspergers, Down’s Syndrome, and other similar challenges are being encouraged to participate to their full potential in Jewish life! Purely by coincidence, I’ve hadContinue reading “Building an Inclusive Jewish Community”
Books, Bullies, Beit Shemesh: A Sermon for Parashat Bo
My two older sons recently did something very strange and surprising: they started reading a lot! The reason is that they found a book – or actually a series of books – that they really like. It’s called Diary of a Wimpy Kid. It’s a fictional, first-person account of something most of us would ratherContinue reading “Books, Bullies, Beit Shemesh: A Sermon for Parashat Bo”
Kaddish for Jastrow
It was about a month ago that our dog Jastrow died. He was 3. He escaped from the yard and got hit by a car. Our kids were devastated. So were we. Jastrow’s name was the proof of my rabbi-nerdiness. (Only other rabbis realized that he was named for the Marcus Jastrow Dictionary of theContinue reading “Kaddish for Jastrow”
Rabbi Micah Streiffer 