Congregation Shir Ami

Rabbi David's latest, on claiming the gift of foresight – a special for this week of Dr. King on the secular calendar and the journey of liberation in our Torah portion.

Gifts of Foresight (P. Bo) How do we perceive the world – as it is becoming ... or as a projection of ourselves? How do we perceive the future? Do we see the future merely continuing a past or present, or brimming with...

The latest Torah teaching from R. David: "On Tyranny and Spiritual Response"

On Tyranny and Spiritual Response (P. Shemot) The Exodus story resounds through time as the first liberation narrative of Western civilization. It drives Jewish identity. It calls us into lives of empathy and social justice. It shaped...

Sometimes received religious traditions fail to hear the voice of suffering. Even worse, received traditions can suppress the voice of suffering. It happens because every religion, by definition, titrates high principle through inherently limited and flawed human capacity. What is our duty in response?

R. David's latest for Congregation Shir Ami.

Hearing the Unheard (P. Vayishlah) Sometimes received religious traditions fail to hear the voice of suffering. Even worse, received traditions can suppress the voice of suffering. It happens because every religion, by definition,...

https://www.congregationshirami.org/torah-blog/rabbis-corner-september-2025-high-holy-days-strongertogether

Rabbi's Corner – September 2025 & High Holy Days: #StrongerTogether It's true every year: The holy month of Elul is our portal into the Season of Meaning. These High Holy Days approach at a pivotal time in collective and global life. This moment asks both all our...

Rabbi David's latest – on what humility is really all about, for Congregation Shir Ami.

A "Small" Teaching on Humility for the Chosen (P. Vayikra) Open any Torah and you'll see in the first word of Leviticus a letter written in tiny superscript. It teaches us about what healthy humility is really all about.

As our Northern Hemisphere enters the weeks of fastest increasing daylight and we accelerate into the oncoming spring (not a moment too soon!), this week's Torah portion opens with a command to make eternal light.

The command aims at all of us, and the sudden absence of Moses underscores the message at this important moment.

– Rabbi David's latest for Shir Ami

Lights On! (P. Tetzaveh) As our Northern Hemisphere enters the weeks of fastest increasing daylight and we accelerate into the oncoming spring (not a moment too soon!), this week's Torah portion opens with a command to make...

The Judaism of tradition is full of laws. It's easy to get lost in the laws, miss their ultimate point and turn our backs. But societal moments that spotlight the rule of law often reveal grave risks when folks can accept or reject the role of law as they please. The point of law is to serve causes far beyond the individual. And spiritually speaking, the point of law's wise restraints that make us free is just that – a profound freedom of soul.

R. David's latest for Congregation Shir Ami.

Wise Restraints and Sapphire Skyways (P. Mishpatim) The Judaism of tradition is full of laws. It's easy to get lost in the laws, miss their ultimate point and turn our backs. But at a societal moment that spotlights the rule of law, we see the grave...

Understood as they truly are, "holy" places can be the most ordinary ... until life, love, experience and memory change them into something more. Those places can transport us in memory and meaning, mind and heart – if we let them.

R. David's latest for Congregation Shir Ami

When Places Double (P. Hayyei Sarah) What we call spiritual places, holy sites, are more than our consecrated houses of worship or historical touch points. Understood as they truly are, "holy" places can be the most ordinary ... until...

This pas Friday, Shir Ami had a lovely Shabbat service welcoming our new members to the Shir Ami family.

There are times in life that rivet us on what's core and strip away the rest. In those moments, we can a tunnel of love and be transformed.

If we're purposeful, or lucky, we can experience these times long before our last time. We can experience Eckhart Tolle's secret to life: we can die before we die – so that we can live.

– my sermon for Kol Nidre 2024 (5785) for Congregation Shir Ami

The Tunnel of Love – Sermon for Kol Nidre 5785 (2024) There are times in life that rivet us on what's core and strip away the rest. In those moments, we can a tunnel of love and be transformed. If we're purposeful, or lucky, we can experience...

Membership in beloved community isn’t merely showing up: it’s a heart courageous enough to open, to touch and be touched. It’s about casting our lot with a greater good in all our beautiful, complex and sometimes maddening diversity – which ultimately is our great strength. Notice if your heart is calloused over, and why. Lean into these precious days – even amidst all that is happening, even amidst the hurt – to awaken your heart, thin its protective veil and feel again the fullness of what poet Mary Oliver called our "one wild and precious life."

– Rabbi David's sermon for Rosh Hashanah 2024 (5785)

Our Shared Heart – Sermon for Rosh Hashanah 5785 (2024) Judaism's time-tested superpower is community – not because it's easy, not because we're similar, but because community is the mainstay channel for the kind of existential love that heals...