07/09/2018 04:42:03 PM
The Broken Vav
Pinchas, 5778
Recently I began learning how to be a sofer, a ritual scribe. I am very grateful to my teacher, R. Eliezer Adam for spending hours of his time in training me. My goal is to write a Torah scroll. In order to accomplish this goal I am first writing a Megillat Esther, of which I am more than halfway done. After finishing that, I plan on writing a second Megillat Esther. ...Read more...
07/03/2018 11:16:00 AM
I Don't Really Care, Do You?
Balak, 5778
We are all familiar with the saying “If a tree falls in the forest and there’s nobody there to hear it, does it make a sound?” If I were to adapt it to this week’s parsha, I would ask “If a Moabite king hires a random prophet to go and curse the Israelites but blessings come out instead, and it has no ostensible impact on the Israelites, do we really need to devote an entire...Read more...
06/05/2018 02:53:15 PM
The Art of Letting Go: A Study of Yitro and Moshe
Behaalotcha, 5778
I want to begin today by asking you to think about two questions: The first is - what is the best piece of advice you have ever received, and who gave it to you? The second is - what is the worst piece of advice you ever got, and who gave it to you, or advice you should have listened to but didn’t? Take a quick moment to think about it because I wanted to use...Read more...
06/01/2018 10:57:46 AM
Boundaries vs. Personal Spiritual Growth
Nassoh, 5778
The opening parts of the book of Bemidbar are about the encampments of the Jewish people. Each tribe was assigned to a specific camp with the camp of the Levites being in the center of the other tribes, and directly adjacent to the Mishkan. The Levites were tasked with a very important role of breaking down, transporting, and then assembling the Mishkan and its...Read more...
05/21/2018 01:18:56 PM
The Path from Hell to Heaven
Shavuot, 5778
The good news is that when all is said and done it seems that there is only one type of sin that will cause us to be assigned in perpetuity to gehinnom.
The bad news is that this is a sin that seems pervasive in our society today, especially on social media. But all is not lost because with enough effort and attention we can avoid this sin.
The Talmud...Read more...
05/20/2018 01:18:58 PM
On Wednesdays We Wear Pink: The Lasting Lessons of the Women in Tanach
Shavuot, 5778
I wanted to open with a statement that, when I shared it with a group of women a few weeks ago, was met with audible gasps: The Book of Ruth is the only time in all of Tanach that women are in a positive relationship with each other. It is the only time that women are friends, that women get along. That is pretty shocking, and today I wanted to...Read more...
04/10/2018 01:15:18 PM
Faster, Faster, the Redemption is Coming
Pesach Day 8, 5778
From start to finish Pesach is the holiday of redemption. But it is two different redemption stories.
The holiday begins with the focus on our ancestors’ redemption from Egypt but it concludes with an emphasis on our future redemption in a messianic era.
One manifestation of this theme of future redemption is seen in the practice of Chassidim to...Read more...
03/27/2018 01:26:49 PM
The Great Shabbat
Shabbat Hagadol means The Great Shabbat. This Shabbat was for me truly The Great Shabbat. It is a Shabbat I will remember for the rest of my life.
Many Shomer Shabbat teens from around the country wanted to observe Shabbat meticulously but they also wanted to be fully present in the March for our Lives. So teens from our community sprung into action. Led by Ezra Einhorn, the teens...Read more...
03/16/2018 10:18:31 AM
The Story of Our Rashi Matzah
A few months ago a friend of mine passed away. His name was Rabbi Yehudah Bohrer. He dedicated his life to the state of Israel. He loved every stone and blade of grass in Israel so much that he took extra joy in showing visitors all around the land. One year a group from our shul traveled together to Israel and Rabbi Bohrer was our guide.
Rabbi Bohrer had a brother who ran...Read more...
03/10/2018 09:54:15 AM
The Idolater as a Spiritual Giant
Parah 5778
This Shabbat we read the passage from the Torah known as parashat Parah, chapter 19 of Bamidbar, that contains the laws of the parah adumah, the red heifer.
The Torah tells us that if a person comes in contact with a dead body then they become ritually impure (tamei). Such a person is unable to enter into the holy space of the Beit Hamikdash or to eat of the sacrificial...Read more...
12/27/2017 11:25:39 AM
Self Segregation
Vayigash 5778
On Sunday, January 7, our shul will be going on a field trip. We won’t be going far. We will just be going up the road, less than a mile away, to a neighborhood in Silver Spring called Lyttonsville where we will tour the neighborhood with a local historian. Lyttonsville was a segregated community founded by a freed slave in the 19th century. The community that lived in...Read more...
11/27/2017 09:30:23 AM
The Kosher Pig®
Vayetzei 5778
As Jacob prepares to leave the land of his birthplace, the land of Canaan, the land of our heritage, he dreams a dream. His dream is not just a mere dream, but a symbol to him as he journeys outward to the world.
“Jacob dreamt a dream. And behold his ladder was firmly attached to the ground and its top was climbing heavenward, vehineh sulam mutzvav artzah, verosho magiah...Read more...
10/16/2017 01:32:07 PM
The World to Come is in Our Hands
Shemini Atzeret 5778
On Shemini Atzeret we recite yizkor. We remember the souls who have enriched our lives with their love. We hold them close spiritually and we connect to them in a way we don’t make time for every day.
On Shemini Atzeret the souls of our loved ones visit us and spend time with us.
Where are those souls the rest of the year?
This week...Read more...
10/02/2017 10:44:04 AM
Kol Nidre 5778
Hi. For those of you who do not know me, my name is Shari Kleiner.
I am the Chair of this year’s High Holiday Appeal.
So this is the appeal speech. Every year at this time, someone gets up here and makes an appeal to help Ohev survive another budget cycle. That’s the way this shul works – it charges less in dues and fees than is budgeted to run the shul. You may wonder...Read more...
10/02/2017 09:35:19 AM
Yom Kippur 5778
On my desk sit two handwritten letters that I have received this year. One is from a Christian woman who is a local resident of Shepherd Park. The other is from a Jewish man who is currently an inmate at a Maryland State prison. I don’t have a prior relationship with each. But despite the obvious differences in their background, both people took the time to write to me for the same reason - they both read...Read more...
10/02/2017 09:30:30 AM
Removing Our Walls
Yom Kippur 5778
Every year I stand before you on Kol Nidrei night and tell you a funny story about my car. But this year I have no funny story about a car for you. This year instead I want to talk about a very sad, car story.
I am talking about a car that at 1:45 pm on Saturday, August 12 intentionally plowed into a crowd in Charlottesville, Virginia, and murdered Heather...Read more...
09/25/2017 01:53:22 PM
Rosh Hashanah 5778
In January I had the honor to join over 150 people from Ohev and nearby communities on a trip to Selma, Alabama to learn more about the Civil Rights Movement in honor of MLK weekend. While I was excited for the trip, and so proud that an Orthodox synagogue was going down to really immerse ourselves in not just learning about the Civil Rights Movement but bearing witness to the tremendous struggles that people...Read more...
09/25/2017 01:48:46 PM
Is a Golem a Human?
Rosh Hashanah 5778
Rosh Hashanah is the day we celebrate the creation of the world—hayom harat olam. Rosh Hashanah is the day that we recognize the awesome and majestic power of our Creator.
But we are now living in a world of such technological advancement where human beings are also capable of creating the most awesome inventions. Some people mistakenly think we don’t need to...Read more...