Sermon: December 14, 2013 – Rabbi Yael Splansky
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At this time of year most polite exchanges revolve around upcoming travel plans. More than once this week congregants making small talk would innocently ask me: “Rabbi, what are your plans for Christmas?” And I would smile, and I would watch a wave of shock come over their faces once they realize what they had said. The truth is I love Christmas. It is a beautiful quiet time of year when the Rabbi has no preparations or responsibilities in creating the holiday for others to enjoy.
Rabbi Yael Splansky – Sermon: December 14, 2013.
I found this sermon to be most interesting and uplifting. It is relevant to this day and age, and to this place: The Diaspora. Rabbi Splansky spoke with her usual eloquence and warmth. While I know some of the historical facts mentioned in this sermon, I learned others, as well. I was happy, all around, to listen intently to this sermon, here on my iPad.
Thank you, Gail. Glad you listened in. It was a special Shabbat. Our Bat Mitzvah, Lindsay McLean, chanted Torah with the Iraqi trope her grandfather taught her. Dr. Naim Dallal chants The Ten Commandments on Shavuot to commemorate The Farhud which he witnessed on Shavuot, 1941 in Baghdad. The ancient chant now offered beautifully in a young, female voice — the first in her family! — was a very different sound. L’Dor VaDor!