Good Yom Tov. I’ll be honest—I didn’t have a drasha until yesterday. Thank God for ChatGPT. Just kidding! Every Disney movie has a moment where they try to make you cry. Who could forget Bambi’s mother getting shot. Or Dumbo’s mom getting locked up. Let’s play with these kids deepest fears right? Well, one that was on the outside less…
I was dreaming last night. It was one of those dreams on the edge of becoming a nightmare but you’re not yet sure. I was late to get on a cruise. I knew that if I didn’t get there in time, the boat would leave without me. I finally arrived with my family and I saw that there was a…
Dear MMAE Family, I hope all of you and your families are happy and healthy. As I mark my 15th year at our shul, I am filled with gratitude for being given the opportunity to be your rabbi. I was once told that the rabbi business is “not a job for a good Jewish boy”. It is certainly a strange…
Honoring the Members of MMAE who Passed Away Many of you know some or all the people I will be speaking about. Some of you don’t know any of them. Either way, the human stories I will tell and the incredible lessons these people have taught by the way they lived is much more inspiring than any speech I could…
What’s Wrong with the High Holiday Prayers? A Chassid went to the Baal Shem Tov in Mezhibuzh and said, “Rebbe, I want to see Elijah the Prophet.” “It’s simple,” said the Baal Shem. “I’ll tell you what to do. Get two boxes and fill one with food and the other with children’s clothes. Then, before Rosh Hashanah, travel to Minsk.…
Having Faith that Hashem Believes in Us Every year at the holidays, I take on three different mitzvah goals. It’s a wonderful practice to take a small meaningful step forward as an affirmation of my teshuva and commitment to living better this coming year. It needs to be something measurable, and easy enough to actually stick to over the long…
By Rabbi Yerachmiel Shapiro I’ve always wondered why the first “request” blessing in the Amidah meditation is the prayer asking Hashem for wisdom. There are so many things we could ask for, why are wisdom and insight the first things we ask for every time we pray? David Kowarski, one of my most interesting congregants, often sends me texts letting…
By Rabbi Yerachmiel Shapiro Two neighbors were fighting over a financial dispute. They couldn’t reach an agreement, so they took their case to the local rabbi. The rabbi heard the first litigant’s case, nodded his head and said, “You’re right.” The second litigant then stated his case. The rabbi heard him out, nodded again and said, “You’re also right.” The…
“I was taught a month ago,To bide my time and take it slow.But then I learned just yesterday,To rush and never waste the day.Well I’m convinced the whole day long,That all I learn is always wrong.”– Phish (Character Zero) I learned two lessons this year that at first glance seem completely contradictory. Early in the year, it occurred to me…