SermonsbyRabbiVictorH.Weissberg SermonforYomKippurYear5736(1975)READ MORE "There is no magical shortcuts to social amelioration, and those who doubt whether these bones can live as they look out upon life, are those who are not fit repositories for God's spirit. For God filled Ezekiel with the conviction that these bones shall live. "I shall breathe my spirit into them." From that conviction came the inspiration which rekindled the spark in the ashes of exile. Ezekiel became the moving hero of the First return to Zion. He inspired his people to a purer faith and a greater effort. They did not wait for God. They served God..." SermonforYomKippurYear5737(1976)READ MORE "America is on the wrong track, for human beings are not coerced into goodness. We are allured into goodness. Goodness is learned reaction to life gained by association with people whose lives have made goodness attractive. And if we look closely at our­selves in these days of introspection we shall see that whatever is genuinely good within ourselves was born and enlivened by our association with someone who made that goodness attractive to us..." BeliefInGod5738(1977)READ MORE "One of the most prevalent ideas in popular religious thinking is that either a person believes in God or he does not. If a man believes, he is a monotheist. And if a person does not believe, he is an atheist. Behind this neat classification is the idea that there is only one God and that our religious life depends on our attitude solely toward Him. Like most popular ideas, it contains just enough truth to keep it going, but is it an adequate picture of our real situation?..." TheRoleofFaith5740(1980)READ MORE "...the process starts from the circumference and goes to the center; from detail to totality. And here we run into religion; for religion is the relationship of man, as a whole being, to his world, religion is how a man joins his life to all of life. And no matter what we do, in this modern world, we need to philosophy that unites life, in the face of its centrifugal forces..." ShalomShalom,V’EinShalom5741(1981)READ MORE "Each of us knows people who always look at the bright side of things. We admire their ability to see good in everything and to keep on saying "that come what may, everything will come out all right." Yet, while we prize this sentiment, it is a most dangerous one. The history of our times has shown us the tragic danger to mankind which lies in the faith that "God in his heaven," therefore "all’s right with the world." Yet people still choose to disregard history..." Blessings,Limitations,andFaith5741(1981)READ MORE "Today I speak of a matter that I suspect includes every one of us. While we may believe that there are some people lucky and blessed with lives that are full, rich, abundant and carefree, upon closer examination, we shall see that they too have been wrestling with limitations and handicaps. Reading biography confirms the fact that all human beings are handicapped in some way, and how they deal with their limitations is the very secret of their success..." TheSecretofWholeness5746(1986)READ MORE "Great religion gives us the means to pull ourselves together. Deep faith allows us to gather dissevered pieces of our lives, and make life whole...religion is the relationship of man, as a whole being, to his world, religion is how a man joins his life to all of life. And no matter what we do, in this modern world, we need to philosophy that unites life, in the face of its centrifugal forces..." TakingResponsibilityforOurLives5748(1987)READ MORE "It is hard to admit failure and concede guilt. Thus we often blame others for out troubles. While we proudly accept plaudits and take credit for our success, we tend to claim that we are victims of circumstance and to rationalize our failure. Yet upon closer examination it easier to see that we are not victims, we are the chief factors in both our own success and failure..." ReceivingGodintoOurLives5748(1987)READ MORE "How is it that these people are able to persevere in life’s most onerous and dangerous endeavors? How is it that they can prevail, in the face of entrenched power and overwhelming odds? Today I propose that instead of simply enumerating and cheering such heroic achievements we look at the sources of their power..." TheFlameofFaith5748(1987)READ MORE "The flame of faith must be fed. It must be refueled from the profound source of strength and perseverance. From God. We cannot live out in His world all the time. There is an inner sanctuary where the still, small voice is heard. It is here that hopes become real, dreams remain eternal, efforts go from strength to strength and the music never dies. Disillusionment is a bad trick we play upon ourselves. If is a flight from life. But our people, our torah, our God says choose life..." TheBalancedLife5749(1989)READ MORE "The Good Life" -- is an expression that has been used to describe any number of things both genuine and specious. Today I would like to talk of the balanced life -- the mix of intellect and emotion that is a precondition for constructive and inspired living. This balance is vital because we have seen how lack of intelligence and lack of feeling have contributed to some of the shallowness and the social ills that presently plague us..." SermonforYomKippurYear5754(1993)READ MORE "While man is ideational, he is also emotional. Forget the emotional and you will suffer over and over again the tragedy pain and mayhem that are so endemic to human life and cause so many to be ashamed of human behavior. Yet, root out the emotional and you destroy some of the soul's greatest achievements; friendship, love, devotion to causes; to search to stand higher and taller in self-esteem and be worthy of blessing. Thus it should be obvious that while we honor the intellect, we most often approach our problems heart first and conscience first..." Tishri5759(1998)READ MORE "A poet once said: "The changes that are sure to come, I do not fear to see." That statement is as false as any I know. For what most of us fear are the unforseen changes, that every new day inevitably brings into our lives. Shakespeare's seven stages of man's life from infancy to childhood to youth, and finally to old age, all present a constant demand for practical and emotional re-adjustment. Each stage, clearly demonstrates, the need we all face for a philosophy, and techniques which will help us handle these changes in our private development, and those which impinge unexpectedly on our lives from the larger world. And so, as we wrestle with life's unexpected vicissitudes, we know that our tomorrows will be different from our todays..." SermonforYomKippurYear5764(2003)READ MORE "Over the past several years my message has concerned the pressures on the Jewish People. I wish I could change that subject today. But the continuing world situation truly merits our attention. Therefore, the question you and I are increasingly called to answer: "Is the current wave of anti-Israel prejudice, heard and seen, in so many places the same or different from the old anti-Semitism which so many remember from an earlier time?" Is this deja vu all over again? It's a question that should concern every one of us..." JewishSettlementinNorthAmerica(2004)READ MORE "This year marks the 350th Anniversary of Jewish Settlement in North America. And, as the statement goes, "we’ve came a long way baby." Back in 1654 there were but 36 Jews who landed in Nieuw Amsterdam. And lest we forget, Governor Peter Stuyvesant, made a terrible fuss over our landing. He wanted us to leave until we promised, that the Israelites, would care for their own poor and man the ramparts of the Dutch Colony along side their fellow burghers..." KolNidre(Undated)READ MORE "On these days we pray "Remember us unto life and inscribe us O God in the book of life for a year of peace and happiness." Perhaps we can best understand this prayer in the light of a vital truth: That what life brings to us depends on what life finds in us. If we seek to obtain peace and happiness, we must develop inner peace and inner happiness. This is one of the most elemental and powerful facts in human experience..." SermononRoshHashana(Undated)READ MORE "Like Moses, we, too stand at Sinai. We stand in God’s presence by banishing both arrogance, tranquility and inner doubt. We who say "Hear O Israel," also emulate Moses as we respond to the call for an effortful, caring, life of service. We who believe that we bear God’s image, deeply believe we possess the divine capacity to confront the hard and the high with the diligence that moves men and advances life. We are not to small for life’s challenges, only, when we try to go it, alone, we are not alone. We stand in His presence, just as Moses and all true believers..." © 2007 RabbiWeissberg.com | All Rights Reserved