Sermons from a Southern Rabbi

by Isbell, Charles David

• ISBN13: 9781606082690
• ISBN10: 1606082698
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-01-26
• Publisher: Wipf & Stock Pub

Summary

Every Shabbat in synagogues around the world and across America, sermons from the local rabbi are an important component of worship. This book brings together thirty-five sermons preached to the congregation of a typical small southern city, Lake Charles, Louisiana. Included are several sermons based upon the weekly parashah (assigned biblical portion from the Pentateuch), a series of messages brought during the high holy days (Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur) of 2007, three funeral sermons, a special Yom ha-Sho'ah (Holocaust-memorial) address, and a short talk about freedom, given on July 4, 2008. Each message represents the author's attempt to link the concerns of the modern world back to the classical, biblical roots of the Jewish faith, thereby invoking the principles of biblical faith to serve as guidelines in the twenty-first century.

Author Biography

Charles David Isbell is Director of Jewish Studies at Louisiana State University and rabbi at Temple Sinai in Lake Charles, Louisiana. He is the author of seven scholarly books and of more than one hundred scholarly articles in the fields of biblical and rabbinic studies.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. ix
Glossary	p. xiii
Torah Portions
Genesis
Can We Really Blame Eve? (2:4a-3:24)	p. 1
The Ulster Project	p. 5
Noah, the Flood, and the Tower (6:9-11:32)	p. 9
Life at the Crossroads (32:4-36:43)	p. 12
Betrayal (44:18-47:27)	p. 15
Exodus
The Really Important People in Egypt (1:1-6:1)	p. 18
The New God on the Block (1-14)	p. 21
Talking Sense to the Pharaoh (10:1-13:16)	p. 25
Not One Hoof Left Behind (10:1-13:16)	p. 29
What Have You Done This Time? (13:17-17:16)	p. 32
A Meddling Father-in-Law (18:1-20:23)	p. 36
Rules to Live By (21:1-24:18)	p. 40
Where Is God's House" (25:1-27:19)	p. 43
The Spiritual Dimension of Beauty (31:1-11)	p. 48
Leviticus
Let's Get Clean! (12:1-13:20)	p. 51
When Is Enough Enough? (25:1-26:2)	p. 55
Numbers
Where Do We Go Now? (1:1-4:20)	p. 59
What Do We Do Now? (13:1-15:41)	p. 63
What It Means to Be a Jew (25:1-9)	p. 67
The Jewish View of Capital Punishment (33:1-35:13)	p. 71
Deuteronomy
Introducing Deuteronomy	p. 75
The Secret to Success (8:1-20)	p. 78
Leadership (16:18-21:9)	p. 82
High Holy Days, 2007
Rosh ha-Shanah Evening Service	p. 87
Rosh ha-Shanah Morning Service	p. 90
Shabbat Shuvah	p. 94
Yom Kippur Evening Service-Kol Nidrei	p. 97
Yom Kippur Morning Service	p. 101
Yom Kippur Afternoon Service	p. 105
Funerals
Ran Mesika Memorial Service	p. 108
Maurice Kleinman-"A Man of Discernment and Wisdom"	p. 113
Deborah and Francine	p. 116
Special Occasions
Hanukkah: 2007? Bah Humbug!	p. 119
Independence, Americans, and Jews	p. 122
Can These Bones Live?	p. 124
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