Inspiration

November 16, 2023 | Current Events | Israel

Reflections on the Washington March for Israel on Tuesday, Nov 14

Dear Friends, On Tuesday, Rachel and I, and a small group from our synagogue joined nearly 300,000 other American Jews in an extraordinary and exhilarating march for Israel in Washington D.C. Our day began at Midway airport at 6am with a departure hall overflowing with blue and white. Everywhere we looked were Israel-themed beanies, shirts, […]

October 17, 2023 | Current Events

Finding Unity

Rabbi Glick’s speech at the October 17th solidarity with Israel gathering at Oak Park Temple. We have heard tonight from our local Jewish community a piece of what we the Jewish people have been undergoing, feeling, and expressing over the past ten days all around the world. We have invited our civic leaders, clergy leaders, […]

August 28, 2023 | High Holidays | Liturgy

Mitigating the Decree

August 21, 2023 | Performance

Dos Reydeleh Dreyt Zikh – “The Wheel Keeps Turning”

Professionally, one of the best moments of my summer this year was performing a concert for the Chicago YIVO society at the Skokie Public Library back in June. The Chicago YIVO society always presents a summer festival series of individual performances or lectures, and I have been doing my concerts for YIVO since 1990. That […]

July 10, 2023 | Israel | Sermon | Spiritual

Sermon – In Need of Shepherds – Israel in Prayer

I was just in Israel. A nation going through tremendous upheaval. There was this moment in my first few days. We went to see a concert of a celebrated singer of piyyutim, Sephardic religious melodies. She came on and she was struggling. She said it was not easy for her to come do a concert […]

June 5, 2023 | Blessing | Spiritual

Don’t Wait to Bless Others

One of my favorite moments in our services is when at the end we chant in Hebrew and English the priestly blessing. I look and I see members of the congregation putting their arms around each other, and standing still, waiting, even receptive. We know what this moment is about, there is a clarity to […]

May 8, 2023 | Spiritual

Torah as the Path of Oneness and Love

I recently went to visit a friend in France for a few days who has a serious illness. He’d been through hell. It is a sad story, but it is also an inspiring story. Through it all, he’s found and given so much love; love of his family, his wife and daughters, the friends who […]