IM Issue 149 – December 2020

Iran, Israel, and More: What to Watch in Joe Biden’s Presidency

Joe Biden has vowed to reverse policies put in place by President Donald Trump on his first day in office. But on many issues important to American Jews, change may come slower, or not at all. When it comes to where the U.S. Embassy in Israel is located, for example, Biden has indicated that he has no intention to turn back the clock. On other Israel issues, change is likely but exactly what a Biden administration will try to do is not yet clear. Here’s a look at what might happen after Biden becomes president on Jan. 20, 2021. (more…)

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Goals

A recent Bat Mitzvah, Tema Caplan, is quite the athlete and asked me to give a sermon at her ceremony about “goals.” The goal, in athletics, seems to be winning. You want to win the game. Every sport has its goal and winners  have a plan to win.

But let’s talk about goals differently and think about our goals in life. (more…)

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November 2020:

Now that the distraction of the election is behind us, we can refocus on the issues of our daily lives. Our synagogue continues to adjust to current circumstances. Although there are few congregants in the building, we have a very active community with two and three remote events or meetings each weeknight. (more…)

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Rocking in the Red Zone Or Dealing with Disruption

You’re walking home from school.

You’re coming home from work.

You’ve lived here since the day you were born.

This is where you grew up.

This is your community.

This is your home.

As you’re walking home, suddenly, you hear a siren. (more…)

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The Best Part of Waking Up, And the Worst:

Jewish People, Coffee, And The Rule Of Law

I drink a lot. I don’t drink alcohol of any kind, but I try to drink more water than ever. And every day, I drink coffee. I have long days and coffee really helps. Recently, I’ve even learned to distinguish good coffee from not so good coffee. (more…)

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The Next Right Thing

I bet a lot of you have never seen Frozen II, the hit sequel to the Disney animated movie about two sisters, Elsa and Anna. But I have three granddaughters and I have seen the film and listened to the score many, many times.
Towards the end of the movie, Anna is desperate with grief: She thinks that her beloved sister Elsa is dead and now her best friend Olaf the Snowman has literally melted away in her arms. She curls up in a cave and almost succumbs to the grief and sadness she feels over the deaths of her two loved ones. It is the darkest moment of the movie. (more…)

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Your Money Or Your Life! Or Essential Services

Have you ever heard of Benjamin Kubelsky? If not, you may have heard of him by his show business name, Jack Benny. He was one of the most famous comedians of the 20th century.
In the most famous skit he ever did, a robber threatens him:
“This is a stickup: Your money or your life!”
Benny is silent.
“Look Bud, I said, “Your money or your life.””
Benny says, “I’m thinking it over.” (more…)

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IM Issue 148 – November 2020

Israel Offers Medical Aid to Lebanon, Response is Silence

The heads of several Israeli hospitals have reached out to Lebanese officials and the United Nations offering medical support to the country’s wounded.
“It hurts to see the children – little children – crying and injured,” said Dr. Masad Barhoum, director-general of Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya, Israel. “People without children – their lives destroyed in an instance. They need medical and psychological help.”
Barhoum, a Christian Arab, speaks Arabic. On Wednesday, he took to social networks and the radio appealing directly in their language to the Lebanese president and prime minister, and even Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, to allow him to help. (more…)

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Why did God let Trump lose?

Trump would not be the first pro-Israel president to be “cursed” by God.

Has God cursed Donald Trump, the man who claimed to bless Israel more than anyone else?

Just days before the election, Trump sought to reawaken and harness the love of his Evangelical Christians constituency for Jerusalem by removing political limitations on research cooperation between the United States and Israel and allowing Americans born in Jerusalem to choose to put Israel on their passports. (more…)

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The Problem with Expectations Or Presidents and Other False Messiahs

I want to talk today about expectations. You may find that the first part of what I say expresses some things about your life that you do not even admit to yourself. Some of you will find the second part of what I say, about expectations of our country and our leaders, very controversial. But it’s Yom Kippur, and if we’re not honest on Yom Kippur, we never will be. (more…)

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