Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch reflects on the synagogue’s refugee relief mission to Greece and Germany. “We are a tiny corner of the world on 68th Street, but still, we did a lot of good.”
There is an essential truth that should govern our behavior, Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch says. “You can give of yourself without depleting yourself. The spirit of God rests upon you. You can — you must — share it with others.”
Showcasing our men’s shelter, Rabbi Samantha Natov considers the Jewish mandate to help those in need and shares comments from recent shelter volunteers, including: “It’s the easiest volunteer job ever with the most impact: all I’m doing is sleeping, and yet I am enabling the shelter to stay open.”
“What the Bible is teaching more than anything else is that human beings need other human beings,” Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch says in this sermon. “Practically everything we have, and everything we know, comes from other people.”
In a day and age when “it is hard for us to appreciate Jewish independence because it is our daily reality,” Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch finds inspiration for renewed commitment to Israel in his favorite biblical passage.
Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch urges our community to support the synagogue’s refugee relief work. “I hope you will tell your friends, share our moral indignation, and resolve to do something yourselves.”