Rabbi Robert Scheinberg's page

No one would ever think of simply not inviting him. And to his credit, he always shows up, no matter how much complaining he may do once he has arrived. I’m talking, of course, of one of the most important mythical personalities of the Jewish holiday cycle.  He loves to push our buttons. But you couldn’t imagine a Passover seder without him and his provocative questions.  And in fact, I am quite confident that he is here in the synagogue today - and how we decide to relate to him will have a dramatic effect on the Jewish future. I’m speaking, of course, of the רשע - the Wicked Son, one of the four sons described by the Passover Haggadah. I know some of you are thinking:  is the rabbi confused?  I knew Rosh HaShanah is early this year, but is Passover also early this year?! Quite THIS early?!   (Actually, this is not the first time that I have discussed Passover during a Rosh haShanah sermon. Some of you may remember several years ago when sho...

How can a physics experiment from the 1930's help us prepare for the new year? Welcome to the most unusually timed Jewish year that many of us will ever experience!  If you are here, that means that you did something a little unusual - you made your plans for Rosh HaShanah even before Labor Day Weekend.  This year, we can expect Yom Kippur to fall in the first half of September, Sukkot and Simhat Torah will be over before the end of September, and Hanukkah will start on Thanksgiving Eve.   It just seems like everything is happening much sooner than we’re accustomed to.  I know I’ve been told that time speeds up as you get older, but this is ridiculous. I’m not the first person to notice this.  The world’s very best writer about sports ever -- the late Bart Giamatti, president of Yale University and then Major League Baseball Commissioner, once wrote:  “Somehow, the summer seemed to slip by faster this time. Maybe it wasn’t this summer, but ...

The Anti-Ashamnu (To be sung to the tune of "Ashamnu") ai ai ai ai ai ai ai …..... Not my fault It wasn’t me It wasn’t so bad He deserved it ai ai ai ai ai ai ai …..... Everyone was doing it It didn’t hurt anybody Get over it already You’re too sensitive ai ai ai ai ai ai ai …..... It’s just the way I am Nobody’s perfect I had to   I needed to I couldn’t pass it up Think of everything really good that I do I had the best of intentions It’s not nearly as bad   as what a lot of other people   get away with every day ai ai ai ai ai ai ai …..... Just look at it from my perspective Think of everything I’ve gone through I never claimed to be a saint Why won’t you Forgive me   already? (note to the perplexed: "Ashamnu" ( mp3 ) is an alphabetical confessional prayer for Yom Kippur, in which we declare, "We are guilty, We have betrayed; We have stolen; We have spoken maliciously; etc. etc. etc." - one declaration of guilt...

Adapted from Rabbi Scheinberg’s sermon on the 2nd day of Rosh HaShanah 5765 (2004)                          Travel back in time with me - back to the year 1905, when this congregation was founded.   Travel with me to a community of Eastern European Jewish immigrants, such as Hoboken NJ.   Follow me into one of hundreds of Jewish restaurants and cafes throughout the New York area.             We see a group of a number of men and women in their 20’s, dressed in fashionable clothing of the early 20th century in the United States. But they are surrounding one man of the same age, who looks like he just got off of the boat from Europe.   He’s wearing an overcoat, and a hat, and he has an untrimmed beard.   As you get closer, you overhear parts of the conversation:   indeed, this man DID just...

From the Shofar Newsletter May 2013   What’s the Hebrew word for ‘husband’? Actually, you have two choices.  Both are in use in Hebrew today.  and both were used in the time of the bible.  The first word is ‘ ba’al ’.  If a woman in Israel today wants to refer to her husband, she might refer to him as ‘ ba’ali ’ - ‘my husband.’ But if you know Hebrew, you know that the same word ‘ baal ’ can mean ‘owner.’  For example, ‘ ba’al ha-bayit ’ means ‘home-owner’ or ‘master of the house.’  And more insidiously, the owner of a slave is also referred to in the bible as ‘ baal ’. So you can see this term’s etymological origin.  It is a relic of a time when a woman’s relationship with her husband wasn’t that different from the relationship between a servant and master.  There are some people who won’t use the word baal on principle for this reason.  So what word would they use instead?  The word ‘ ish ’.  Most liter...

Jewish holidays feel different in Israel.  Maybe it’s because outside of Israel, celebrating a Jewish holiday is a somewhat counter-cultural activity, while in Israel, Jewish holidays are mainstream and celebrated by the entire society.   Or maybe it’s because so many Jewish holidays celebrate events that took place in Israel.  And some holidays are celebrated completely differently in Israel from how they are celebrated outside of Israel. Yom Ha-Zikaron, Israel’s Memorial Day, falls every year on the day before Israel’s Independence Day, Yom Ha-Atzma’ut.   Israel’s independence day bears some resemblance to Independence Day in the United States.  It’s a day for parades and barbecues, a day for celebrating and not necessarily for reflecting deeply on the meaning of the holiday. But Yom Ha-Zikaron, Israel’s memorial day, bears almost no resemblance to the American Memorial Day that we will observe in May, that is for most Americans simply a d...