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What’s the most important sermon for rabbis to give this new year? Add your opinion!

Aug 20, 2009
General

Today is Rosh Chodesh Elul, the beginning of a month-long, intensive period of spiritual preparation for Rosh ha-Shanah. If you’re a rabbi, you probably have some good ideas by now about what your sermon ideas will be on Rosh ha-Shanah and Yom Kippur. But, speaking from experience, there’s still time for one or two more to make it into your sermon. If you’re a congregant, in a few weeks, you might be asking, “What is the rabbi going to speak about this year?”

The sanctuary or chapel may not be so full during weekly Shabbat services, but it’s packed on these holidays. Rabbis have an annual opportunity to reach large numbers of their congregants during these days. One message may not change a life, but it can draw people into greater Jewish involvement—or, it can move them further from it. So, rabbis especially feel the weight of the responsibility and opportunity to reach for deep impact with their sermons at this time, and congregants who primarily come to services infrequently hope for words that are meaningful and relevant for them.

So, here are two timely questions for readers of Tools for Shuls:

  1. What issues are most important for rabbis to address this year in their Rosh ha-Shanah and Yom Kippur sermons?
  2. What topics should they avoid?

Whether you’re a rabbi or a congregant, please contribute your ideas. I’ll share the responses in the next post, which will appear this coming Monday.

Thanks!

Rabbi Herring

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3 Comments
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3 Comments

  1. Rabbi Arnold D. Samlan  •  Aug 25, 2009 @10:51 am

    I am going for “change” as the theme of my divrei Torah for this year. I plan to reference the economy and how it has changed our assumptions about our lives and society, the election of Obama and how it served as a landmark for the civil rights movement of the 60’s, and the deaths of pop icons (Michael Jackson, etc.). The theme of change is central to the holidays; If we believe that change is possible, then teshuva follows. If we do not believe change possible, then the holidays are meaningless exercises.

  2. Jordan Goodman  •  Aug 25, 2009 @2:18 pm

    Shalom All,

    I just heard from a Rabbi friend of mine that President Obama, had a conference call very recently that was open to all rabbis from the non orthodox wings of Judaism. The President called for the rabbis to help him in getting his healthcare initiative passed by seeing this as a moral issue and not a political issue. Obviously the President realizes the unique opportunity presented by the High Holidays to reach more Jews in the pews than otherwise seen the rest of the year. So it’s now obvious to me that at least one High Holiday sermon this year in many if not most non orthodox synagogues will be on this topic.

    And it won’t have any carryover value for the rest of the year re involvement in the synagogue nor in “doing” Judaism.

    Other than Rabbi Samlan’s response above, how sad it is that deafening silence in here has been the response to my second to last reply to the previous post as well as Rabbi Hayim’s post above. President Obama and his team better understand the importance of this unique opportunity to reach the Jews in the pews with his vision for healthcare than we do with our vision for the synagogue and non orthodox Judaism!?!!??!! What a shame!!!

    In the High Holiday liturgy we find “B’rosh hashana yikateivun, u’v’yom tsom kippur, yeikhateimun,” On Rosh haShanah it is written and on Yom Kippur it is sealed; who shall live and who shall die…..

    So the question is “will the synagogue and non orthodox Judaism be inscribed and sealed in the Book of Life for the coming year?” God only knows and it doesn’t seem like we’re doing much to help Her/Him out with the decision.

    What is the necessary redefinition of “t’shuvah, t’fillah, u’ts’daqah” needed to avert the severe decree of the fate of the synagogue and non-orthodox Judaism?

    Biv’racha,
    Jordan

  3. Rabbi Hayim Herring  •  Aug 26, 2009 @11:30 am

    Thanks to Jordan and Rabbi Samlan for putting the issue of vision, meaning and purpose front and center….more to follow. Rabbi Herring

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