Archive of Past Sermons
About the Archive
Sometimes a sermon is so powerful that we may want to refer back to it in the future. Or perhaps you missed a service that you heard was particularly interesting and want to read the sermon yourself! We hope you find this archive of past sermons to be useful.
Quick Links:
- Rabbi Niccos' Sermons 2022
- High Holy Days 2021 Sermons
- 2020/2021 General Sermons
- High Holy Days 2020 Sermons
- 2019/2020 General Sermons
- High Holy Days 2019 Sermons
- 2018/2019 General Sermons
- High Holy Days 2018 Sermons
- 2017/2018 General Sermons
- High Holy Days 2017 Sermons
Erev Rosh HaShanah - There's a Place for You - Engage with Shir Hadash
Yizkor Sermon - Yizkor: Why We Remember
May 17, 2021, by Rabbi Aron
May 15, 2021, by Rabbi Aron
December 26, 2020, by Rabbi Aron
December 19, 2020, by Rabbi Aron
December 18, 2020, by Rabbi Aron
December 12, 2020, by Rabbi Aron
December 4, 2020, by Rabbi Aron
Rabbi’s Remarks at Farewell Service
November 24, 2020, by Rabbi Aron
November 20, 2020, by Rabbi Aron
Welcoming New Members to the Congregation
November 14, 2020, by Rabbi Aron
If Ishmael and Isaac Can Come Together
November 7, 2020, by Rabbi Aron
October 10, 2020, by Rabbi Aron
Reciting Yizkor on Simchat Torah
October 3, 2020, by Rabbi Aron
Slichot - Jewish Guilt
Erev Rosh HaShanah -
Rosh HaShanah - Waiting Isn’t Easy
Rosh HaShanah -
Kol Nidre - From This Yom Kippur to Next Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur Morning - Pursuing Justice
September 12, 2020, by Rabbi Aron
The Last Commandment in the Torah
September 5, 2020, by Rabbi Aron
September 4, 2020, by Rabbi Aron
One of the Most Dramatic Moments
August 29, 2020, by Rabbi Aron
August 22, 2020, by Rabbi Aron
If They Tell You That Right Is Left
August 21, 2020, by Rabbi Aron
Justice, Justice Shall You Pursue
August 15, 2020, by Rabbi Aron
Sorting Our Blessings and Curses
August 14, 2020, by Rabbi Aron
The Talmud’s Recent Popularity
August 8, 2020, by Rabbi Aron
August 1, 2020, by Rabbi Aron
Spiritual Transformation Occasioned by a Plague
July 31, 2020, by Rabbi Aron
July 25, 2020, by Rabbi Aron
Were the Prophets Catastrophizers? (PDF)
July 17, 2020, by Rabbi Aron
July 11, 2020, by Rabbi Aron
July 10, 2020, by Rabbi Aron
The Dangers of Relativism (PDF)
June 27, 2020, by Rabbi Aron
June 26, 2020, by Rabbi Aron
June 19, 2020, by Rabbi Aron
June 13, 2020, by Rabbi Aron
June 6, 2020, by Rabbi Aron
May 30, 2020, by Rabbi Aron
May 29, 2020 (Shabbat), by Rabbi Aron
May 29, 2020 (Yizkor), by Rabbi Aron
Giving in Memory of Our Loved Ones (PDF)
May 28, 2020, by Rabbi Aron
True Freedom: Message to Confirmands (PDF)
May 22, 2020, by Rabbi Schwartz
Wandering in the COVID Desert (PDF)
May 15, 2020, by Rabbi Aron
May 8, 2020, by Rabbi Schwartz
May 1, 2020, by Rabbi Schwartz
April 17, 2020, by Rabbi Aron
April 15, 2020, by Rabbi Aron
Aaron's Loss and our Own Losses (PDF)
April 11, 2020, by Rabbi Aron
April 9, 2020, by Rabbi Aron
March 28, 2020, by Rabbi Aron
Can-Do Spirit in an Unsettled Time (PDF)
March 27, 2020, by Rabbi Aron
Rituals That Anchor Us in Time and Place (PDF)
March 21, 2020, by Rabbi Aron
Shabbat in Strange Times (PDF)
March 20, 2020, by Rabbi Aron
Lighting the Fire in Our Hearts (PDF)
February 1, 2020, by Rabbi Schwartz
Where Is Your Spiritual Center? (PDF)
November 22, 2019, by Rabbi Schwartz
November 17, 2019, by Rabbi Schwartz
November 2, 2019, by Rabbi Aron
The Surprising Words of a Bush Republican (PDF)
October 26, 2019, by Rabbi Aron
All I Really Needed to Know I Learned from Being a Grandmother (PDF)
October 25, 2019, by Rabbi Aron
October 19, 2019, by Rabbi Aron
October 21, 2019, by Rabbi Aron
October 11, 2019, by Rabbi Aron
Mental Illness Is Not a Sin (PDF)
September 20, 2019, by Rabbi Schwartz
September 14, 2019, by Rabbi Aron
September 13, 2019, by Rabbi Aron
Upcoming Israeli Election (PDF)
Erev Rosh HaShanah - Won't You Be My Neighbor?
Rosh HaShanah - Torah and Haftorah Introductions
Rosh HaShanah - Loving Hebrew
Kol Nidre - Anti-Semitism: What a Difference One Year Can Make
Yom Kippur Morning - Choosing your Tikkun
September 7, 2019, by Rabbi Aron
August 24, 2019, by Rabbi Aron
August 9, 2019, by Rabbi Aron
Tisha b'Av through Josephus's Eyes (PDF)
August 2, 2019, by Rabbi Aron
July 21, 2019, by Rabbi Schwartz
Our Seder Plate Traditions (PDF)
July 20, 2019, by Rabbi Aron
July 19, 2019, by Rabbi Aron
The Mystery of Memorization (PDF)
July 12, 2019, by Rabbi Schwartz
May 18, 2019, by Rabbi Schwartz
Remembering Rabbi Panken (PDF)
April 5, 2019, by Rabbi Schwartz
November 11, 2018, by Rabbi Aron
November 9, 2018, by Rabbi Aron
What to do about Anti-Semitism (PDF): Building positive identity as Americans—an identity that comes from a sense of shared mission and values, and not from denigrating others—will help overcome prejudice of many types.
October 19, 2018, by Rabbi Aron
The Generation of the Candles (PDF): This year Yitzchak Rabin’s yahrzeit will have a special poignancy for me as I think of those who were teenagers back in 1995 and whose hopes for peace were dashed in such an abrupt and brutal way. As they lit candles to light the way forward, so may we with our own lives be a light that shows a path to a better and more peaceful world.
October 13, 2018, by Rabbi Aron
Somewhere Over the Rainbow (PDF): Today the rainbow is a very positive symbol. We think of “somewhere over the rainbow” as being a place of peace and harmony. It was a cantor’s son, Harold Arlen, born Hyman Arlick, who in 1939, as the clouds of war were gathering over Europe, wrote the song “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” thus winning the Academy Award that year for best song.
October 12, 2018, by Rabbi Aron
What's Religion Good For? (PDF): Many people have commented to me that the customs associated with Jewish mourning—shivah, Kaddish, and having people gather—fill very real human needs during a time of
intense grief and emotional need. Religious experiences enhance our connections and train us in empathy and compassion.
October 6, 2018, by Rabbi Aron
How We Fall Into Sin (PDF): Rabbi Kushner says that we often think about love the way we think about food on a buffet table. If we see someone else taking more, then we fear that there won’t be enough for us. Instead, he urges us to think about love as a muscle: the more we practice at being loving, the more love there is.
- Erev Rosh HaShanah - The Visual Generation
- Rosh HaShanah - Torah and Haftorah Introductions
- Kol Nidre - Change Requires Acknowledgement
- Yom Kippur - Citizenship and also Torah and Haftorah Introductions
August 25, 2018, by Rabbi Aron
Who is Responsible? (PDF): We cannot use the behavior of others as an excuse for our own behavior. No one makes us so angry that we can’t help but lash out. Likewise, we are not compelled to obey when others tell us to do something wrong.
August 24, 2018, by Rabbi Schwartz
What if? (PDF): We can fight stigma by acknowledging that we see a therapist. People say they have an appointment with their primary care doctor and feel no fear of being judged. Why don’t we feel the same lack of fear when it comes to mental health professionals? We can fight stigma by not having stigma for ourselves—by not hiding from this world in shame, but by being proud of who we are, warts and all.
August 17, 2018, by Rabbi Schwartz
Righteousness We Shall Pursue (PDF): When we recite the words of the Un’taneh Tokef, reading the words, “U’teshuvah, u’tefillah, u’tzedakah ma’avirin ro’ah ha-gezerah,” tzedakah may not refer simply to charitable giving, but it may suggest that we give to ourselves that which we are instructed to give to others: fair judgment.
August 3, 2018, by Rabbi Aron
Shame Then And Now (PDF): Being known for acting with mercy and bestowing kindness are definitely badges we wear with pride. But perhaps being able to experience shame is also a credit to our communal character.
July 20, 2018, by Rabbi Schwartz
June 22, 2018, by Rabbi Schwartz
Zero Tolerance Zero Compassion (PDF)
April 7, 2018, by Rabbi Schwartz
March 23, 2018, by Rabbi Schwartz
December 8, 2017, by Rabbi Schwartz
Star Wars and Hanukkah (PDF): A long time ago in a place far, far away…It is a period of civil war. A new government has declared the practice of the old faith a crime punishable by death, disbanding an ancient order of sages and sending many into exile. Rebel fighters, striking from a hidden base, have won their first major victory against the evil Empire, stirring a spirit of defiance among the populace. Out armed and vastly outnumbered, the ragtag band of rebels—aided by an all-powerful, all-permeating Force that binds together all life in the universe—remain the only hope for restoring peace and freedom to their people.
- Erev Rosh HaShanah - Sept 20th Sermon
- Rosh HaShanah - Sept 21st Sermon
- Kol Nidre - Sept 29th Sermon
- Yom Kippur - Sept 30th Sermon