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A MORAL BUCKET LIST Rabbi Deborah A. Hirsch October 12, 2016   5777 Yom Kippur—“The Day of Judgment—Even the hosts of heavens are judged”.  We enter the sanctuary today—our hearts, filled with memories, hope, trepidation, awe.  We anticipate the final blast of the Shofar—its shrill pierce will inject eternity into our hearts.  The Torah portion […]

TRANSITIONS KOL NIDRE 5777 Rabbi Deborah A. Hirsch   A few years ago I was introduced to Dannan Parry’s poignant essay, “The Parable of the Trapeze–Turning the Fear of Transformation into the Transformation of Fear.”  This piece resonates with the themes embedded in these 10 Days of Awe.  It moves us beyond the past and […]

Rabbi Deborah A. Hirsch Trust and Truth Rosh HaShanah Morning 5777   Abraham should have reeled with confusion, sadness, anger and fear when God commanded him, “Take your son, your only son, the one you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him up as a sacrifice on one of the […]

FINDING RESILIENCE RABBI DEBORAH A. HIRSCH THE VILLAGE ROSH HASHANAH EVE 5777   Each summer holds the same routine for many in our city—warmer weather, time out at weekend homes, kids at camp, parents with more ‘me’ time, freedom from homework, trips to Citi Field or Yankees Stadium, dress-down work days or weeks, perhaps, even […]

In any good marathon run, there are points along the way where we receive nourishment, catch our breath and sharpen our focus on the ultimate goal.  The last leg of the marathon, is often the most trying and most urgent.  The month of Elul has embedded within it both a ‘rest stop’ and that sense […]

D’var Torah Rabbi Deborah A. Hirsch July 29, 2016                Next Friday, Jews across the globe will usher in the Hebrew month of Av—a month overlaid with sadness and mourning.  Tradition teaches it was on Tisha B’Av, the 9th day of Av that both the first temple in 586 B.C.E. and second temple in 70 C.E. were destroyed.  According to tradition, […]

Dear Friends, Tonight, as we welcome the joy of Shabbat, our hearts and spirits are saddened and angered by the senseless act of terror that last night transformed nationalistic pride in France to a state of national mourning.  The path of terrorist destruction in Nice that, to date, has claimed 84 lives comes on the […]

For many of us, summer conjures up moments of family and personal fun.  Summer camps, specialty camps, teen trips, college programs, internships and family vacations make up the cacophony of activities that so many of us or our children participate in during the 10-12 week break between school endings and beginnings. Growing up in Chicago […]

D’VAR TORAH RABBI DEBORAH A. HIRSCH JULY 1, 2016 This weekend…this Shabbat… embraces both memory and future for Village Temple. Like Americans throughout our country, this weekend celebrates the birth of our nation.  Technically, the Continental Congress declared Independence on July 2, 1776; however, the final wording that became memorialized as the official document wasn’t […]