Rabbi David Baum

This sermon delves into the complexities of Jewish unity and disunity during these challenging times, particularly on campus.

Parashat Acharei Mot - May 4, 2024 Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash I heard a fascinating story this week at a Shiva home for one of...

Shabbat HaGadol - 2024/5784 Think back to a time when you said no, and it changed your life for the better. That one word is easy to say...

During the Seder, we ask the same question every year - how is this night different from all other nights? This year, we add another...

Parashat Metzorah/Shabbat HaGadol, 2024/5784 Are you a Purim Jew or a Pesach Jew? What could that possibly mean?!? Are there some Jews...

My brother gave a toast at my cousin's wedding, at which he gave the cardinal sins of our family to our new cousin. Here was one of them:...

Take a moment and think about all the various definitions of Zionism and who could be a Zionist. ‘Insiders’, those of us who have a more...

Parashat Vayikra 2024/Shabbat Zachor 5784 This summer, I was having lunch with a rabbi around my age, who was going through the same...

This week, we had the Oscars, but did you know that the Oscars have their own awards, for, the Oscars?  Like, Biggest Surprise: Emma...

Think back to a time when you felt transformed by leadership - something you were in charge of where you led others - what did you do,...

Think back to a time when you felt overlooked. Maybe it was at work when you did a lot of work for a group project but someone else took the credit. Or during a social gathering, you shared a personal achievement, but the conversation quickly shifted to another topic, or maybe it was when you were picked last to play in a sport when you were a kid.  The feelings conjured are often painful. It doesn’t feel good to be overlooked and ignored. It is hard to be invisible.  In this

Parashat Bo We are now 105 days since October 7. For the hostages still being held in abhorrent conditions, many in tunnels underground,...

Wagons of Wisdom: The Enduring Legacy of Jewish Values© Rabbi David Baum - Vayigash December 23, 2023 Take a moment, and think: is there...

The Courage of Candle Lighting | Opinion by Rabbi David Baum "There has been a dramatic increase in antisemitism in America following the...

Rabbi David Baum Parashat Toldot 2023/5784 On December 6, 1987, my father went to Washington DC to take part in the Save Soviet Jewry...

Parashat Chayyei Sarah 2023/5784 Rabbi David Baum At the end of the movie Schindler’s List, as Schindler’s Jews are liberated from the...

In this week’s parashah, Lech Lecha, we are introduced to an important mitzvah: pidyon shvuyim , the redemption/ransoming of captives....

Last week, I said that the most difficult thing about writing a sermon is the beginning - it seems like the Torah portion solved that...

Last Friday night, we gathered as a congregation for a service of hope and healing. As many of you know, Friday night (when we’re not serving dinner or having a program) does not draw the crowds we get on Shabbat morning, but this Friday was different. We set up our sanctuary into a series of concentric circles. We asked those with close family in Israel to sit in the inner circle, physically showing their proximity to the center, to those who are feeling the brunt of the vi

Photo by Jukan Tateisi on Unsplash People often ask, what’s the most difficult part about writing a sermon? I think most rabbis will tell...