Happy Challahween!
Rabbi Knopf’s Friday message for Parashat Lekh Lekha (October 31, 2014): Rabbi Knopf explains the connection between Shabbat and Halloween and how, if you want, you can have Halloween every week!
Nov 04, 2014
Shtender
Join Rabbi Michael Knopf, the Rabbi of Temple Beth-El in Richmond, VA, for sermons given from his Shtender.
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Episodes
Rabbi Knopf’s Installation
Listen in as Rabbi Knopf is formally installed as the Rabbi of Temple Beth-El in Richmond, Virginia.
Oct 31, 2014•31 min
Will There Ever Be a Rainbow?
In honor of Rabbi Knopf’s installation as Rabbi of Temple Beth-El, his father-in-law, Rabbi Neal Rose, Ph.D., offers some words of Torah, connecting the Noah story with the meaning of installing a new rabbi.
Oct 29, 2014•11 min
From Ferguson to West Africa, Who is My Brother?
Rabbi Knopf’s Saturday message for Parashat B’reishit (October 18, 2014): Why being our brothers’ and sisters’ keeper is more important now than ever.
Oct 24, 2014•13 min
Light It Up
Rabbi Knopf’s Friday message for Parashat B’reishit (October 17, 2014): The opening chapter of Genesis, teach the rabbis, is an extended metaphor about the nature of the world and the Jewish mission in it. Rabbi Knopf unpacks the metaphor, and charges us with the mission.
Oct 23, 2014•13 min
Why Sukkot?
In his Saturday message for the Shabbat of the Sukkot festival (October 11, 2014), Rabbi Knopf offers a fresh take on why the Torah instructs us to celebrate Sukkot.
Oct 16, 2014
An Edifice or an Act of Love?
“In his Friday message for the Shabbat of the Sukkot festival (October 10, 2014), Rabbi Knopf compares synagogues to sukkot, the Ise Shrine, and Wikipedia.
Oct 15, 2014
The Quantified Life
In his Yom Kippur message for 5775, Rabbi Knopf explains why we should focus on living a life that counts, rather than on living a life that can be counted.
Oct 09, 2014•17 min
Recipe for a Renaissance
What two renaissances – separated by centuries and thousands of miles – can teach the American Jewish community about sparking our own.
Oct 06, 2014•21 min
Higher and Higher
In his message for Shabbat Shuvah (September 27, 2014), Rabbi Knopf explains the deeper meaning of a High Holy Day season liturgical change.
Oct 03, 2014
The Internal Israel War
In his sermon for the 2nd Day of Rosh Hashanah 5775, Rabbi Knopf argues that, for the sake of the welfare of the American Jewish community and Israel, our communal conversation about Israel should be guided by our legacy as a people of the Talmud.
Oct 01, 2014
A House of Prayer for All People
In his sermon for the 1st Day of Rosh Hashanah 5775, Rabbi Knopf calls upon the Jewish community to be more inclusive to intermarried families.
Sep 29, 2014
Experiential Education
Rabbi Knopf’s Saturday message for Parashat Nitzavim-VaYelekh (September 20, 2014): Some refrain from Jewish observances because they think they get the point, or think there is no point. But the only way to know the ancient wisdom Jewish practice teaches is by taking a “leap of action.”
Sep 24, 2014
In Memory of Prof. Dov Zlotnick (z”l)
Rabbi Knopf’s Saturday message for Parashat Ki Tavo (September 13, 2014): A personal tribute to JTS Professor Dov Zlotnick, who passed away on September 13, 2014, and to his scholarly passion, the Mishnah.
Sep 17, 2014
Consider the Parking Lot
Rabbi Knopf’s Friday message for Parashat Ki Tavo (September 12, 2014): The capacity for change – in our lives and for our communities – sometimes requires looking at ourselves through a fresh set of eyes.
Sep 15, 2014
Don’t Look Away
Rabbi Knopf’s Saturday message for Parashat Ki Tetzei (September 6, 2014): The brokenness of our world might make us tempted to turn off the news and ignore what’s going on. But don’t be tempted to look away. The world needs you now more than ever.
Sep 10, 2014
Does Power Corrupt
Rabbi Knopf’s Friday message for Parashat Ki Tetzei (September 5, 2014): The prevalence of political scandals in our time – notably the recent conviction of former Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell – do not prove that power corrupts. Rather, power simply amplifies our innate characteristics.
Sep 08, 2014
Conflict Resolution
Rabbi Knopf’s Saturday message for Parashat Shoftim (August 22, 2014): Many of us feel that in a disagreement, there is only right and wrong, winner and loser. But often, there is more than one right way, and more than one way to win. That’s why the Torah teaches us to actively pursue compromise.
Sep 03, 2014
Judge Yourself Fairly
Rabbi Knopf’s Friday message for Parashat Shoftim (August 22, 2014): This month leading up to the High Holy Days is a time for the valuable task of evaluating ourselves. But when you judge yourself, remember to judge yourself fairly.
Sep 01, 2014
Perspective and Reality
Rabbi Knopf’s Saturday message for Parashat Re’eh (August 23, 2014): The quality of our life is often dictated by how we choose to see our life. And how we relate to the world is strongly connected to how we choose to view the world.
Aug 27, 2014
Ferguson and the Jewish Call for Justice
Rabbi Knopf’s Friday message for Parashat Re’eh (August 22, 2014): Whether or not Michael Brown’s killing was racially-motivated, the wounds it exposed and the tensions it ignited cannot be ignored by the Jewish community. The Torah calls for us to build a just society.
Aug 25, 2014
The Ebola Epidemic
Rabbi Knopf’s Saturday message for Parashat Eikev (August 16, 2014): The Ebola epidemic in West Africa is not about a disease. It’s about poverty and injustice. What we Jews can and should do about it. Please pardon the echo in this episode of The Tisch. We had technical difficulties in the recording that we hope […]
Aug 20, 2014
Torah from the Jester, the Genie, and John Keating
Rabbi Knopf’s Friday message for Parashat Eikev (August 15, 2014): What Robin Williams’ life and legacy can teach us about being the best we can be.
Aug 18, 2014
Planting For Our Children
Rabbi Knopf’s Saturday message for Parashat Va-Et’hanan (August 9, 2014): When we insist that our favorite parts of synagogue life are untouchable and immutable, we can inhibit our ability to reach the next generation of Jews.
Aug 13, 2014
Keeping Up With the Steins
Rabbi Knopf’s Friday message for Parashat Va-Et’hanan (August 8, 2014): Worrying about what other people have that we don’t is corrosive to our souls and keeps us from true happiness.
Aug 11, 2014
True, Important, Kind
How to criticize more constructively, a sermon for Parashat D’varim.
Aug 06, 2014
The Secret of Jewish Survival
In this haftarah introduction for Shabbat Hazon, Rabbi Knopf argues that the greatest threat to Jewish survival was not foreign enemies, intermarriage, or lack of ritual observance. It is losing track of who we are supposed to be and what we are called to do on the most fundamental level: fighting for fairness and equality […]
Aug 05, 2014
Get Up, Move
Most of us want to be comfortable and avoid struggle. But in this D’var Torah on Parashat D’varim, Rabbi Knopf argues that sometimes, seeking out new challenges is the only way we can flourish.
Aug 04, 2014
What You Can Do for Israel (And What You Can’t)
With Israel under attack by Hamas rocket fire, many feel powerless to do anything constructive. The most constructive thing we can do is to never lose hope that peace is possible.
Jul 30, 2014
Judgment Free Zone
How the biblical Cities of Refuge and Planet Fitness can serve as models for synagogue rejuvenation.
Jul 28, 2014
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