Recent Sermons
Israel Flowering at 70
Israel Flowering at 70 6 Iyar 5778 | April 21, 2018 Rabbi Alexander Davis You’ve heard of bird watching. In Israel, I learned of a variation- flower watching. Israelis go out to look for signs of spring in the blossoming of the earth. When we were on sabbatical in 2012, we arrived in the spring and spent our first few weeks travelling around the country....
read moreCovenant of the Land – A Weekly Letter from Rabbi Davis – April 20, 2018
Shalom Chaverim, I recently officiated at a brit milah. It was a wonderful simcha full of love, family and tradition. After the ceremony, a guest asked to talk privately saying that he was having trouble understanding the need for circumcision. It seemed unnecessary and potentially cruel in his eyes. The question is a good one and he is not alone in asking. In Europe, concerns...
read moreThe Meaning of these Stones
The Meaning of these Stones 8th Day Pesach 5778 Rabbi Alexander Davis Over this past year, I have been teaching local artists in the Minneapolis Jewish artist lab. Our theme this year is thresholds. The artists will produce a show at the Sabes gallery this summer that grows out of our learning. A threshold is place of beginnings and of change. It is a point...
read moreThis is Me – A Weekly Letter from Rabbi Davis – April 13, 2018
Shalom Chaverim, When the sharpest words wanna cut me down I’m gonna send a flood, gonna drown them out I am brave, I am bruised I am who I’m meant to be, this is me Look out ’cause here I come And I’m marching on to the beat I drum I’m not scared to be seen I make no apologies, this is me These lyrics...
read more“I’m Dreamin’ of a White Pesach” – A Weekly Letter from Rabbi Davis
Shalom Chaverim, I don’t think that the person who said “April showers bring May flowers” had snow showers in mind. Though beautiful, it hardly feels like chag haaviv, a spring time holiday. Still, the weather event has a Pesach connection that feels particularly timely. We know the story well: When the Israelites first left Egypt, they ate matzah because they didn’t have time to let...
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#Dayeinu – A Weekly Letter from Rabbi Davis
Dayeinu. We know the song well. Our Aleph Pre-School children sang it at their Passover play this week. And we’ll sing it at our seder tonight. Dayeinu literally means, “it was enough for us.” It is an example of hakarat hatov, of giving thanks. When the Israelites looked back, they gave thanks to God for each step out of Egypt on their march to freedom...
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