Imagine back with me that you are an ancient Israelite. Moses, the man you’ve grown to trust and who lead you away from the oppressive bonds of being ruled to here, to this mountain, has now been gone for forty days. You can still remember the moment he left you nearly two months ago – the ground beneath you shook, and thunder and smoke surrounded the mountain. As you watched Moses disappear from view, God’s voice boomed above the thunder – “I am Adonai your God, who brought you out of Egypt. You shall have no other gods besides Me....
Sermons
Sermons
Sermons
Watch, listen or read the sermons in our listing of recordings below. Alternatively, you may subscribe to the Beth Am Sermons Podcast.
Watch, listen or read the sermons in our listing of recordings below. Alternatively, you may subscribe to the Beth Am Sermons Podcast.
CloseSermons
February 15, 2019
“Dear Care and Feeding,
I have a 14-year-old stepson who I first met when he was a toddler. He spent weekends with his father and me until he was 7, when he moved in with us because his mom moved out of state and we were awarded physical custody. When we got married several years ago, I asked him what he wanted to call me, and he said “Mom.’ He is smart, bright, funny, generous, and has a heart of gold. He deserves to have present, loving parents as much as every single kid out there does. And yet,...
February 8, 2019
There it was. In the darkness of the early morning, she heard someone knocking on the cafeteria door. Carolyn Collins, a custodian at Tucker High School, just outside Atlanta, was about to take out the trash – but the knock at the door stopped her. She put down the full garbage can and cautiously opened the door. There were two Tucker students, a boy and girl, looking at her nervously. “Can we come in?” the boy asked. “Me and my sister are getting tired of waiting outside.”
The students, it seemed, were living with their mother in a car. She’d...
Jewish Disability Awareness, Acceptance and Inclusion Month
February 1, 2019
Shabbat shalom. My name is Stacey Ashlund, and I have 2 children that grew up here at Beth Am - Amelia is 16 and Brendan is 19. My son is now a sophomore at Lewis and Clark college in Portland, OR. When he was born, and soon after, we learned he was profoundly deaf and would lose his vision also, due to a rare genetic disorder called Usher Syndrome. Some of you may have heard Rebecca Alexander speak here a few months ago about her experience losing her vision and hearing. It is a devastating diagnoses for the individual as...
Jewish Disability Awareness, Acceptance and Inclusion Month
February 1, 2019
Hi. My name is Lexi Tuch. I am a senior at Kehillah Jewish High School, and I have been a
volunteer with Friendship Circle since I was a freshman. Friendship Circle is an organization
which matches Jewish teens with children with severe developmental disabilities and creates
programming for them twice a month. These pairs are called buddies. For the children, this gives
them an opportunity to be social and join an accepting and unique community. For the teens, this
can be an eye opening experience that can completely change their perspective.
Throughout my time in...
Adult Confirmation Class
January 25, 2019
In our Confirmation Class—much as in life—we learned about some fundamental Jewish concepts, and then would wrestle to better understand the complexities inherent in each of them. What I especially appreciated about each of our sessions together, was that no single concept had a single truth or understanding. Judaism gives us a wide spectrum of possible beliefs.
The spiritual path of faith -- in Hebrew, Emunah -- was one which deeply touched me. I have lived a good deal of my life trying to better understand this concept and how it applies to life in general, to relationships with other...
