Archive for September 2023

Yom Kippur Morning 2023 Rabbi Cy Stanway I want to share a true story[1] with you:  In 1975, in Cologne, Germany, there was an ambitious high school student who loved jazz music when no one else around here seemed to have any interest. And so at 16 she basically became a concert promoter, and she got…

Erev Yom Kippur Erev Yom Kippur 2023Rabbi Cy Stanway I love playing around with words and expressions. There is always insight to be gleaned by dwelling on a word or a phrase and creating a midrash on the fly. For instance, in Hebrew the word for king is, of course, Melech.  The word for clown is lemach.…

Whither Free Israel?Rosh Hashanna Morning 2023Rabbi Cy Stanway Many years ago, I had the most embarrassing moment of my life, and believe me, this was the most embarrassing.  And it had nothing to do with me! My whole family was coming back from Yom Kippur services. Now, keep in mind that my synagogue at the time…

Rabbi Cy Stanway There was a fascinating article I found during the pandemic that has stayed with me. I want to share part of it with you. If I asked you, ‘when did civilization start?’ you might say something like, ‘when people moved into cities’ or ‘when clay pots were created’ or, maybe, ‘when humans…