Kol Nidrei Sermon: Finding a Stone from our Ancient Temple
by Rabbi Melissa Klein

Five days after Yom Kippur begins the holiday of Sukkot, on which we are commanded by Torah to rejoice and be happy (Deut 16:14), vesamachta bechagecha. After forty days of focusing on teshuva, on return and renewal, on making amends and seeking forgiveness, on facing how little control we have over our fate, we leave the creaturely comfort and security of our homes and go outside, where we celebrate by eating, and for some, by sleeping, in a Sukkah. [More]

Rosh Hashanah Sermon: Fear, Awe and Personal Growth
by Rabbi Melissa Klein

Rosh Hashanah has come once again and with it, the stirring up of many fond childhood memories—of taiglach, the traditional sticky sweet dough that our friend Fannie made yearly, of singing avinu malkeinu, of two days spent at synagogue rather than in school, wandering in and out of services and playing with my friends outside, of a sense of warmth and wholeness that come with the arrival of the holidays. There is also a not-so-pleasant memory that gets stirred up. [More]