Author Archives: rabbisteinman

About rabbisteinman

I am a rabbi living in North America. I was ordained from HUC-JIR. This is my blog.

Passover 5780/2020

Posted on April 7, 2020

Every time I open my refrigerator I can smell it. That pungent, spicy horseradish root is permeating the space and wafts out the fridge door every time I open it. Passover is coming and my maror (bitter herb) is ready. … Continue reading →

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Shabbat is almost here

Posted on March 13, 2020

I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait for Shabbat. This week leaves me anxious and exhausted, my soul yearns to be refreshed. This week in the Torah we read, “The People of Israel shall guard Shabbat, observing Shabbat … Continue reading →

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What about parsnips?

Posted on April 18, 2019

Dear MOM, I am so excited for Passover this year. The opportunity to celebrate with family and friends is so precious. And for some reason, Passover is becoming one of my favorite holidays (look out Sukkot). We are hosting Seder … Continue reading →

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Learning Torah in memory of a friend

Posted on January 12, 2019

Reading this article brought a flood of wonderful memories. I was eleven years old when my family moved from Los Angeles to a suburb of St. Paul, Minnesota. My parents visited St. Paul a few times in preparation for our … Continue reading →

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Kol Nidre sermon and sermon song

Posted on October 18, 2018

It took a  little longer than I’d planned, however here is a video of my Kol Nidre sermon, Embrace the “And” and the sermon song “Simple Song” by Leonard Bernstein sung by MY SISTER, the cantorial soloist. This video was … Continue reading →

Posted in family, holidays, Temple Beth Hillel, Torah | 1 Comment

Embrace the “And”

Posted on September 20, 2018

“Embrace the “And”,” my sermon for Kol Nidre 5779 is below. The part of the river used as a mikveh for ritual immersion was situated high atop a steep hill on the outskirts of Premishlan. When the road leading up to it … Continue reading →

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We’ve All Gone to Look for America

Posted on September 11, 2018

Below is the text of my Rosh Hashanah morning sermon. Shana tovah, happy new year. Last winter I traveled to Washington, DC with six of our TBH teenagers to the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism’s L’Taken Social Justice Seminar. … Continue reading →

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Happy 74th birthday, Mom

Posted on August 24, 2018

Dear Mom, Happy birthday! It might seem strange to wish you a happy birthday when you’ve been gone now for almost eight years, nevertheless, happy birthday. Early this morning I looked through pictures, so many pictures, and the sadness of … Continue reading →

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VoyageLA interview

Posted on August 13, 2018

Thanks for the interview, VoyageLA. You can read it here.

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Getting ready for Sinai

Posted on May 18, 2018

Shabbat Shalom! As Shabbat concludes we have the special opportunity to go from kodesh to kodesh, holy to holy, as Shavuot, the Feast of Weeks, commences. Our tradition teaches that on Shavuot our people stood at Mt. Sinai and established … Continue reading →

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