reflection Archives - Jewish Sacred Aging

jerusalem cityscape with the dome of the rock israel

Tisha B’Av: What is it all about?

August 5, 2022 Rabbi Dr. Steven Moss 0

Rabbi Dr. Steven Moss discusses the connection between Tisha B’av, which begins at sundown August 6, and Yom Kippur. [Read more…]

Army Spc. William Armstrong, a New York Army National Guard Soldier assigned to the 107th Military Police Company, receives a challenge coin from retired U.S. Navy Chaplain (Capt.) Rabbi Irv Elson, representing the Jewish Welfare Board Jewish Chaplains Council, in appreciation of his support as a color guard for the remembrance ceremony of Union Sgt. Benjamin Levy at his burial site at Cypress Hills Cemetery in Brooklyn, N.Y., May 21, 2021. Levy was a New York Soldier who is the first Jewish American to receive the Medal of Honor for his actions to save his regimental colors and rally his unit, the 1st New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment, during the Battle of Glendale in June 1862. (U.S. National Guard photo by New York Guard Capt. Mark Getman)

Memorial Day 2021 Reflection: “We miss the flowers.”

June 2, 2021 Chaplain Barry Pitegoff, BCC 0

Chaplain Barry Pitegoff reflects on the power of Memorial Day. [Read more…]

Meditations on life, death and an afterlife for an improved Shanah Tovah

August 27, 2020 Rabbi Allen Maller 1

Editor’s Note: This essay by Rabbi Allen S. Maller was originally published on the blogs of The Times of Israel. It is republished here with Rabbi Maller’s kind permission. In just four weeks Jews will begin [Read more…]

Spiral Jetty, United States. Photo by Greg Rakozy on Unsplash

Reconsidering My Life

January 6, 2020 Rabbi Mark Levin 0

Rabbi Mark H. Levin reflects on his life, and the values of altruism, love, and justice. [Read more…]

Guest Blog Post from Rabbi Howard Shapiro: Vi-Eleh Shmot – These Are The Names: A 50-Year Reflection

January 7, 2018 Rabbi Richard Address 0

Rabbi Address shares a guest blog post from Rabbi Howard Shapiro, a sermon Rabbi Shapiro delivered at the National Association of Retired Reform Rabbis in Florida. [Read more…]

“If It Please You, Do Not Go Past Your Servant…”

October 30, 2015 Rabbi Cary Kozberg 1

Rabbinic lore teaches that every person who was present at the revelation at Sinai heard the Divine Voice according to his/her specific abilities. It is at the root of the belief that worship experiences can [Read more…]

A Whack of Humility

September 18, 2015 Rabbi Cary Kozberg 0

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]his year was the first time in a long time that I did not lead services on the second day of Rosh Hashanah. Having recently left my chaplaincy position of 25 years (and where [Read more…]

Backwards and Forwards: a pre-Rosh Hashanah commentary

August 28, 2015 Rabbi Cary Kozberg 0

Don’t say, “How is it that times past were better than these?” For it is not wise of you to ask that question. (Kohelet/Ecclesiastes 7:10) Although we won’t be reading this verse for several weeks [Read more…]

“Mirror, Mirror on the Wall…. WHO THE HELL IS THAT?”

June 1, 2015 Sandra Taradash 2

Ok! Ok! Ok! We are all Baby Boomers who either fashion ourselves from Haight-Ashbury, Rodeo Drive, 5th Avenue or somewhere in between! We either care or we don’t care what we look like and the [Read more…]

Calm in the face of life: A reflection from Jewish ethical tradition

November 16, 2012 Hope Honeyman LCSW 0

The parsha entitled Chaye Sarah, the Life of Sarah, begins with Sarah’s death at the age of 127. Abraham purchases a burial site for his wife, the cave of Machpelah, from Ephron the Hittite for [Read more…]