Rabbi Lauren Grabelle Herrmann, Erev Rosh HaShanah Drash 2018/5779 “Mann Tracht; Un Gott Lacht” — “Man plans. God laughs,” the Yiddish saying goes. This phrase took on new resonance and meaning when our life took an unexpected turn this past summer. Jon and I picked up our daughter Aviel from Camp Havaya for a short vacation, along with our son Nadiv. On the third day of our trip, we went tubing on Lake Hopatcong, which was glorious!…

Rabbi Lauren Grabelle Herrmann “SAJ is a joyous community of New Yorkers, a Jewish home where everyone’s voice is valued and heard. Imagine a school kids run towards and a synagogue where all can come together for study, social justice, and Shabbat. Ever since SAJ introduced America’s first bat mitzvah in 1922, it has been reconstructing Judaism, questioning tradition and expanding its boundaries to ensure that Torah remains relevant, engaging, and welcoming to all.” These…

Rabbi Lauren Grabelle Herrmann, Yom Kippur 5779/2018 The very first commandment given to the Israelites is the commandment of Rosh Hodesh (and thus the instruction to keep a calendar), received just as they are about to leave Egypt and become a people. On this verse, Rashi, the prolific French medieval torah commentator, famously inquires: Why did the torah not begin with this verse? Why start with the Creation of the world and all that follows…

Rabbi Mike Commins teaches, “Prayer expresses desire.  Holy desire: an end to an illness or for a peaceful world, to live in joy and to behave well, to find connection with God.”   Tonight, we usher in The Yamim Nora’im, these days of Awe, which are a time for reflection and transformation.  Unlike many other Jewish holidays, the main address of celebration and commemoration is the synagogue and the primary activity of the community is…

Lately, it feels like I am having the same conversation in varying forms and guises. A conversation with a friend about marital struggles: Could he stick through it despite the pain and hurt? A conversation with a congregant about a personal struggle that is leaving them despairing. A conversation with my mother, who often feels at the end of her rope as she takes care of three sick relatives, while dealing with her own health…

Rabbi Lauren Grabelle Herrmann, Kol Nidre 2018/5779 A short questionnaire. Have you ever been in a meeting at work where you were so focused on what you wanted to say that you realize you are no longer listening and have no idea where the conversation is?Have you interrupted someone in the middle of their speaking? How about in the last 48 hours?Have you ever been in a situation in which a friend reaches out for…

Rosh HaShanah, the celebration of the New Year, is a day of seeing and a day of hearing. It is a day of seeing ourselves, gazing inward to see the places we have gone astray; it is a day of hearing — hearing to the blasts of the shofar that awaken us out of our spiritual slumber. I understand Rosh HaShanah also as a time to see beyond our normal field of vision and to hear the…

In April, I sat at my desk in the very late hours of the evening. I was feverishly completing essay questions before the deadline for the AJWS Global Justice Fellowship, a program for clergy to learn about and advocate on issues in the developing world. I applied to this program for a few reasons. First, because as many in this room know, it’s hard to say no to the inimitable Ruth Messinger. Beyond that, I…

Rabbi Lauren Grabelle Herrmann, Rosh HaShanah 2016 Shana Tova. Last year, I stood here for my first High Holidays as the rabbi of the SAJ, aware that we - the community of SAJ and I - were beginning a new relationship. I wanted you to have a window into who I am as a person, Jew, and a rabbi. You may remember that I told the story of a young woman who had come to…

Kol Nidre 5777 Rabbi Lauren Grabelle Herrmann, SAJ, NY, NY Yom Kippur invites us to acknowledge the places we, as individuals and as a society, have gone astray and to begin to redress those wrongs.  The confessional prayers -- the Al Heyt and the Ashamnu that we will soon sing -- are written in the plural.  As we recite these prayers multiple times, we are reminded over that we share in the collective responsibility for…

Erev Rosh HaShanah 2016, Rabbi Lauren Grabelle Herrmann Every year, I look forward to the Erev Rosh HaShanah service. As the sun is setting, we have the opportunity to physically and spiritually usher out one year and welcome in a new one. Finding myself again in the unique holiday melodies, I contemplate newness and the gift of starting over. If I am lucky, I am able not just offer greetings of Shana Tova to a…

Installation of Rabbi Lauren Grabelle Herrmann - November 21, 2015 I am not sure how many of you here know this, but I came into SAJ for services one time before my interview Shabbat last April. It was early October of last year. It has been announced that Rabbi Strassfeld was retiring and the position would become open. I happened to coming up for the weekend for the naming of a dear friend's baby. I…

Rosh HaShanah Day 1, 5776, Rabbi Lauren Grabelle Herrmann Early in my career, a woman – in her mid 20s asked for a meeting.  This was highly typical – I encountered a lot of young Jewish people through my former synagogue that were seeking to find a way back into Judaism on their own terms.  I gladly set up a meeting for the following week, anticipating that we might talk about any number of topics, like…

SAJ, Erev Rosh HaShanah 5776, Rabbi Lauren Grabelle Herrmann Every year, as we move toward a New Year and into a new High Holiday season, I am awed by the majesty and power of these sacred days.  Our tradition asks us to dig deep inside our souls so that we can return to being the best and most authentic versions of ourselves.  We are asked to forgive and to be forgiven, to challenge ourselves to grow…

Rabbi Lauren Grabelle Herrmann, SAJ 2015/5776 Shana Tova. G’mar Hatima Tova. Pope Francis, writes in his recent Encyclical Laudato Si about responsibility towards address climate change: "Our goal is not to amass information or to satisfy curiosity, but rather to become painfully aware, to dare to turn what is happening to the world into our own personal suffering and thus to discover what each of us can do about it." Perhaps it is not so…