From the Jewish News
Shannon Levitt | Staff Writer
Sep 10, 2024
Clockwise from top left: Rabbi Debbie Stiel, Rabbie John Linder, Rabbi Bonnie Koppell, Rabbi Mendy Deitsch, Rabbi Jeffrey Schesnol, Rabbi Dana Evan Kaplan and Rabbi Andy Green.
Courtesy of Jewish News archives
As the Jewish High Holidays approach, rabbis across the Valley are shaping sermons to help their congregations welcome the New Year, a time for both profound reflection and spiritual renewal. Every year, Greater Phoenix rabbis challenge themselves to offer insight and inspiration by weaving together both traditional and contemporary themes in order to engage listeners with messages that resonate personally and communally.
That’s always a challenging writing assignment, but one obstacle making it increasingly difficult each year is the pace of the news cycle. Though Congregation Or Tzion Rabbi Andy Green already knows a broad outline of what he plans to talk about in his sermons this year, given “how much happens and continues to happen, writing something now might not be sufficiently up to date for a few weeks from now,” he told Jewish News.
For example, Green intends to talk at length about the Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israel and the rise of antisemitism, topics “it would be malpractice not to speak about,” he said. However, every day brings fresh information on life in Israel, the war in Gaza and new anxieties across the Jewish world. Even though he will not be able to let the ink dry on his sermons until the day he delivers them, he knows he will be talking about these issues in the context of maintaining Jewish pride.
“It’s been a deeply challenging year for the Jewish community around the world, but even in a time when we are being challenged, I want to share that there is richness and good reason to proudly express our Judaism, stand with Israel and continue forward even when we feel more hatred and vitriol than I’ve ever experienced before in my lifetime,” he said.
Temple Solel Rabbi Debbie Stiel is also discussing these issues and plans to talk about the idea of hope as it is understood in the Jewish tradition.
“This has been such a heartbreaking and difficult year for the Jewish community. It will be important for us to think about what our tradition says about hope, why it is such an important aspect of life and how we can help foster a true sense of hope,” she told Jewish News in an email.
On Yom Kippur, Temple Solel Senior Rabbi John Linder will discuss Moses in the Book of Deuteronomy, “interpreting Torah for the Israelites’ success as they prepare to enter the Promised Land, how can we, in our generation, take inspiration from Torah, for the sake of Israel today and our identity as American Jews,” he told Jewish News in an email.
Chabad of the East Valley Rabbi Mendy Deitsch plans to talk about the lessons the Jewish community has learned from actual events rather than theoretical ideas. People still ask why the Jews did not fight back against the Nazis, but since Oct. 7, “this question is no longer asked,” he told Jewish News in an email.
“We now clearly see that everything that happens to us happens by the divine will, and by increasing our faith and our trust in HaShem, we end off not only not being docile but empowered to tap into our inner resources and achieve great accomplishments,” he said.
Or Adam Congregation Rabbi Jeffrey Schesnol intends to talk about the importance of taking action when it comes to defining oneself, moving forward and demonstrating one’s values, he said in an email to Jewish News.
Deitsch agreed that taking action rather than remaining a passive observer is critical. He will share the lessons he learned earlier this year when he gave the opening prayer to both houses of the United States Congress in Washington, D.C.
“No matter where or what we are, we are never to see ourselves as too small to make an impact on the world around us,” he said.
To that end, Temple Beth Shalom of the West Valley Rabbi Dana Evan Kaplan will discuss Jewish ideas about building character, particularly courage and bravery.
“Courage is the willingness to face, rather than evade, uncertainty, pain, agony and danger. Bravery comes with not just confidence but often a lack of fear. This is different from courage, where the action is taken in spite of fear,” he told Jewish News in an email.
The Jewish stories he will use to illustrate his points “can help us to understand the nuances of various character traits and how we can utilize the many attributes at our disposal to live our lives in more meaningful ways, and more ethical manners,” he said.
Temple Chai Associate Rabbi Bonnie Koppell will talk about the importance of listening to one another.
“If we could only learn to listen more deeply, listen in ways that foster understanding, we would be in a much better place to create healing, to resolve conflict, in our personal relationships and in our troubled world,” she told Jewish News in an email.
She also acknowledged that part of being a good listener is learning how to discern who is worth listening to, especially in a world overwhelmed with media of all kinds.
“Ultimately, we need to be open to a variety of sources and then make our own informed decisions about what we believe. We need to listen to our own moral conscience and we need to listen to others. Life is complicated,” she said.
Linder will invite the community to experience awe and the benefits of doing so, “not only for the sake of our individual, physical health, but for the importance of getting outside of ourselves to recognize our interconnectedness with all of creation and our place in healing the world,” he said.
Amid all the solemn topics “there’s always room for humor,” Green said. Despite all the sad and frightening news, “one thing that has helped our Jewish family is humor and our ability to laugh.”
But with all the serious content to be shared, don’t expect any comedy routines this year, he said. JN
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