From Rabbi Rachel Kort

The author Vicki Weber imagines a famous Midrash (Vayikra Rabbah 34:3) about the first century sage, Rabbi Hillel.* His students would not simply learn from him in the classroom, but would also follow him around town, to glean all his wisdom. One day as his students walked with him down the street, he whisked a […]

Rabbi Rachel Kort Temple Beth Or, Everett Rosh HaShanah Morning 5781   There is something special about this sermon. I wrote it in the forest at Deception Pass. I did something I’ve never done before. I went camping by myself. Just me, my laptop and a really long extension cord. It was so nice to […]

Words are powerful in our Jewish tradition. The Torah begins with God creating the universe through words: “God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light” (Genesis 1:3). The 15th century German text The Ways of the Righteous explains “with the tongue, one can perform limitless acts of virtue…[and] can commit numerous great and […]

Do you think Rosh Hashanah is a Jewish holiday?i Yes, we are sitting here in the sanctuary. Tomorrow we’ll skip work, and miss school, separating ourselves from the non-Jewish world. But unlike other holidays we celebrate as a Jewish community such as Passover, Purim and Hanukkah which talk about our particular history as a Jewish […]