Follow the sermons, music, lectures and conversations of Rabbis Elliot Cosgrove, Neil Zuckerman, and Ethan Witkovsky and Cantors Azi Schwartz, and Rachel Brook. Park Avenue Synagogue seeks to inspire, educate, and support our membership and listeners towards living passion-filled Jewish lives. Through spirited prayer, study, observance and acts of kindness we aspire to foster deep connections with each other, our Torah, our God, the people and State of Israel and our shared humanity. More information available at www.pasyn.org or follow us @parkavesyn or https://www.facebook.com/parkavenuesyn
As the Israelites prepare for their journey into the wilderness, God’s first commandment to Moses and Aaron will both surprise and inspire you.
Why didn’t Joseph write home to his father? Rabbi Cosgrove reviews the possible answers, suggesting that when we are open to hearing the perspectives of others, we can pass blessings from one generation to the next.
Why are we more confident that a child born to an intermarried Jewish woman will identify Jewishly more readily than the child of an intermarried Jewish man? Drawing on the Biblical story of Dinah, Rabbi Cosgrove opens a conversation on the dynamics of gender, intermarriage, and Jewish identity.
What makes for successful parenting? Rabbi Cosgrove teaches that unlike the example set by our biblical ancestors, parents can love children equally and infinitely, but differently.
We all love the story of two enemies who become friends, but how can we make it happen? Rabbi Witkovsky uses one of the more obscure relationships in Parashat Va-yera to discuss the importance of giving and receiving criticism in transforming our relationships.
How do you show that you are a Jew? Rabbi Cosgrove reminds us that we are heirs to Abraham, the iconoclast founder of our people. We must be true to that heritage and proudly assert our Jewish identity.
Life is meaningful when it is shared with others, when we are in relationship with others. Just as God told Noah, “get out of the ark,” it is time to venture outside, and it is time to remind others that when they are ready, it is safe to do so.
What is the theme of our people’s story? As we open the Torah to read once again about the beginning of humanity, Rabbi Cosgrove teaches that our history is a story of persistence in response to setbacks. Faith in the future and in ourselves is as essential today as ever.
Where do we go from Yom Kippur? Rabbi Cosgrove reminds us that resetting our moral compass is not a “one-and-done” task, but a lifelong challenge that we meet by a day-after-day commitment toward becoming our aspirational selves.
Our tradition teaches us to search for the truth that can be found on both sides of a disagreement. Yet when it comes to the dignity of other people, there can be no equivocation. In celebration of Pride, Rabbi Philp challenges us to create communities that welcome our LGBTQ friends and neighbors.
