Rosh HaShanah 5783
Rabbi Spike Anderson
if you are a TE congregant and want to talk about volunteer opportunities through Temple Emanu-El, please contact Rabbi Anderson
Rosh HaShanah Day One Sermon 5782
Rabbi Spike Anderson
Shabbat Service January 22, 2021
Rabbi Spike Anderson
Shabbat Service Nov. 27, 2020
Rabbi Rachael Miller
Tonight, I want to tell you about an angel I once met on earth. I found him, or he found me, in the heart of one of Kansas City, Missouri’s roughest neighborhoods— down at the Independence Boulevard Christian Church’s Micah Ministries. I used to go to the Church on Mondays during my later high school and early college years. Throughout my years serving the hungry on those Monday nights, I met all kinds of people: Those who just lost their jobs, those who were working but just needed some relief from feeding four mouths one night a week, those in gangs, those who left gangs, and those experiencing homelessness.
Shabbat Service Nov. 20, 2020
Rabbi Max Miller
In every generation of American Jewry, we have had a foot in American culture and in Jewish culture. Thanksgiving more than any other day has been an opportunity to combine Americanism with Judaism. More than a century ago, synagogues would have morning services, mirroring the customs of their Christian neighbors. Eventually these services turned into communal gatherings across faith communities. Thanksgiving services have now become ecumenical opportunities to appreciate the breadth and diversity of our society. In many ways, a Thanksgiving meal became Jewish simply because Jews were at the table. However, that is not where the traditions have ended.
Erev Rosh HaShannah 5781
Rabbi Rachael Miller
Long ago, there was a young man, a jeweler who traveled from village to village selling precious stones. He came from a village known far and wide as a place filled with those who often acted foolishly. This was a time before cars, before sirens and flashing lights. This was a time when they built homes out of sturdy wood and left the roads unpaved. One day, the young man arrived in a particular village, not far from his own.
Rosh HaShannah 5781
Rabbi Spike Anderson
Good yuntif.
I need to confess. Most years, I know what I want to talk about months in advance of Rosh Hashanah. A topic or issue will keep me awake at night, demanding to be addressed.
But this year, with fires burning in our forests, with fires burning in our cities, our country is bitterly divided with no end in sight.
Kol Nidre 5781
Rabbi Max Miller
Shana Tova
Just over four months ago Rachael and I were sitting in the recovery room filled with every emotion imaginable. We were filled with joy, with awe, with fear, and with anxiety—the emotions likely every parent has felt in the early days of holding that new life. Up until March of Rachael’s pregnancy, we assumed our baby would immediately become a fixture at Temple Emanu-El: cooing downstairs at the MJCCA Schiff Pre-School; being passed between teens and adults on Sundays at the Diamond Family Religious School; and, just generally becoming a part of the fabric of the building.
Yom Kippur 5781
Rabbi Spike Anderson
Gud Yuntif.
Heneinu. Here we are. Standing at the gates of Yom Kippur. It can feel awkward. We have unfinished business. There are broken relationships.
Today some of us are missing family who are physically far due to the realities of Coronavirus.
Others are thinking about family who we have placed at a distance, on purpose.
As a rabbi, I have the honor of being with congregants through sacred life cycles events.
Erev Rosh HaShannah 5780
Rabbi Max Miller
Shana Tovah!
I am in awe of our congregation. Just the other day I was standing in our lobby with Rabbi Colbert; together we took a moment to marvel at the changes and evolution Temple Emanu-El has undergone in the past year, the past few years, the past decade and longer.
Rosh HaShannah 5780
Rabbi Spike Anderson
Shana tova!
Instead of a Rosh HaShanah sermon this morning (afternoon), what if I told you a story?
An amazing story that hints at the mystical.
A story of courage, of challenging the impossible, and second chances.
Erev Yom Kippur 5780
Rabbi Rachael Miller
Welcome to your spiritual home. Within these walls, we do the important spiritual work of the High Holy Day season. Within these walls, children play, laugh, and explore.
Yom Kippur 5780
Rabbi Spike Anderson
Gud Yuntif.
One of the greatest rabbis of the last millennia was Yaakov Yitzchak Horowitz HaLevi. A man with such vision and knowledge that the Jews of 18th Century Poland called him The Seer (“chozeh”) of Lublin.
Erev Rosh HaShanah 5779
Rabbi Rachael Miller
The power of prayer isn’t to close the wound, but to mend the spirit. We want to believe in the power of prayer to bring comfort, strength, and hope…
June 29, 2018
Rabbi Spike Anderson
Footsteps of Hope, a Jewish-American choice
The Torah, which literally means ‘The Teaching’, is not only the basis of the Jewish religion…it’s the back-bone of Western Civilization…it is the all time best seller… and since Jon Adams used Leviticus and Numbers as the basis of the MA constitution, one could argue that the entire US constitution has its roots in Torah.
Rosh HaShanah 5778
Rabbi Spike Anderson
How do we retain hope and courage in times of uncertainty and deeply painful events all around? We look to our ancestors for strength and we look to regular folks, just like us, who have done extraordinary things, one action at a time.
Rosh HaShanah 5778
Rabbi Max Miller
We must approach language, be it spoken or written, as the most consequential building block of our culture. In this 21st century-culture we are so often reminded of the inverse: words are the stuffing used to fill news segments, twitter messages, or Facebook posts.
Yom Kippur 5778
Rabbi Spike Anderson
Like the sound of the shofar, Charlottesville is our wake-up call. And America knows that in Charlottesville the line has been crossed. Right now in synagogues, churches, mosques and many places of gathering, this message is being preached loud and clear: Hate has no place in our streets. Hate has no place in these walls. And hate has no place in America.
Yom Kippur 5778
Rabbi Rachael Klein Miller
Each of you in this congregation, your presence deserves to be recognized because you are. Each of us carries different weights on our shoulders as we move from one task to another in our busy lives, but when we acknowledge the humanity of another, we build up our community and our world.
