“Sometimes We Need to Chuckle… And If Not Now, When?”
10/27/2023 11:37:34 AM
I know the situation in Israel remains critical and I pray that peace and normalization will soon be at hand. And while most rabbis will not allow themselves to entertain a bit of humor at this time – and I admit, I might be wrong in doing so – I will do so anyway. If you think it came from Borscht Belt comedians, you’re probably right. That’s because while most of the jokes today aren’t exactly “K” rated,...Read more...
“Strengthening the Democratic Experiment”
10/12/2023 05:05:15 PM
“Strengthening the Democratic Experiment” Solidarity with Israel Shabbat Shemini Atzeret Shabbat October 6, 2023 Peter H. Grumbacher – Interim Rabbi Temple Beth El – Newark, Delaware ________________ This Shabbat is also Shemini Atzeret, the poor sibling of Simchat Torah. The Levitical description tells us that the first and last days of Succot are holy, Shemini Atzeret being this last day, Simchat Torah tomorrow eve and Sunday. On...Read more...
“Imitating Life Itself: The Brilliance of the Succah”
09/30/2023 07:08:23 PM
“Imitating Life Itself: The Brilliance of the Succah” Succot/Shabbat - September 30, 2023 Peter H. Grumbacher – Interim Rabbi Temple Beth El – Newark, Delaware ______________________ At Beth Emeth we had one of the most beautiful Succot decorated with palm leaves and fruit, highlighted with the cutouts created by our religious school students. For a bit of color we added cranberries. More about that in a moment. The problem with our...Read more...
“There’s No Use Hidin’ It”
09/25/2023 07:13:25 PM
“There’s No Use Hidin’ It” Peter H. Grumbacher – Interim Rabbi Temple Beth El – Newark, Delaware Yom Kippur 5784 – September 25, 2023 ____________________ For those of you who’ve seen the movie Golda, you probably know that Helen Mirren sat for three hours every day to have the prostheses and makeup transform her into Golda Meir. And what a job they did! You’d never know it was Helen Mirren. On a smaller scale for sure, with...Read more...
“I’ve Been Asked To Speak About God”
09/24/2023 07:15:50 PM
“I’ve Been Asked To Speak About God” Kol Nidrei 5784 – September 24, 2023 Peter H. Grumbacher, Interim Rabbi Temple Beth El – Newark, Delaware ___________________ Many years ago, a mother dropped off her son for religious school. Mrs. Schleplowitz came bounding into my office, and said, “Why don’t you ever speak about God?” I looked at her and replied, “Well, good morning to you, too. And what are you talking about? She...Read more...
“And Sarah Laughed…And So Should We”
09/16/2023 07:15:03 PM
“And Sarah Laughed…And So Should We” Peter H. Grumbacher – Interim Rabbi Temple Beth El – Newark, Delaware First Morning Rosh Hashanah 5784 – September 16, 2023 __________________________ In my teenage years The Lovin’ Spoonful sang a song called, “Do You Believe in Magic.” Does anybody remember that song? Well, be that as it may, we have to ask the same question regarding the miracle of Sarah’s pregnancy and Abraham’s...Read more...
“The ‘Look,’ Or, How a Shabbat-Desecrating ‘Chasid’ Threw Me For a Loop”
09/08/2023 07:19:03 PM
E X P L A I N A N D P U T O N F U L L – F U N C T I O N A L T A L I T “The ‘Look,’ Or, How a Shabbat-Desecrating ‘Chasid’ Threw Me For a Loop” Rabbi Peter H. Grumbacher September 8, 2023 – Temple Beth El ______________________ So it was a very warm Saturday afternoon. I was driving back to Wilmington from one of my interim gigs in Virginia. I wanted a drink, and only a WaWa Diet Peach iced tea would do. Would I have to wait...Read more...
“The Joke That Came Alive Before My Very Eyes Right Here in Temple Beth El!”
08/25/2023 07:20:23 PM
“The Joke That Came Alive Before My Very Eyes Right Here in Temple Beth El!” Peter H. Grumbacher, Interim Rabbi August 25, 2023 A geniza is where Hebrew books, manuscripts and other papers were kept. Some were later buried. The oldest geniza is found in Cairo; when discovered in 1864 it was found to hold 280,000 Jewish manuscript fragments dating from 870 to the 19th century. There’s a joke that’s so old it was found in the Cairo...Read more...
“You and Y’all”
08/11/2023 07:26:06 PM
“You and Y’all” August 11, 2023 – Shabbat Re’eh Peter H. Grumbacher, Interim Rabbi ___________________ One of my criticisms of the latest Reform prayerbook, Mishkan Tefilah, is its use of the “vertical pronoun.” There are too many interpretative selections of the traditional prayers that contain the word “I”, or the alternative, “me.” For those of you who take note of such things, it’s virtually never found in any...Read more...
“The Perfect Rabbi”
07/28/2023 07:24:34 PM
“The Perfect Rabbi” Peter H. Grumbacher, Interim Rabbi Temple Beth El – Newark, Delaware – July 28, 2023 ____________________________________________ A couple of months after I came to Beth Emeth, we were standing in the receiving line following the service when, in front of the many people who were waiting to say, “Shabbat shalom” to me and the Senior Rabbi, one of the long-term congregants greeted me with, “You know, Rabbi,...Read more...
Thu, May 9 2024
1 Iyyar 5784
2020-2021
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