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Read Rabbi Knopf’s Recent Posts
- 6 Years as a Rabbi: What I’ve Learned June 16, 2017
- Do You control Your Monuments, or Do They Control You? – Shavuot 2017 June 2, 2017
- Remarks from Richmond Rally Against Muslim Ban May 9, 2017
- 30 Days of Liberation 2017 April 14, 2017
- Illumin8 2016 December 27, 2016
Category Archives: Sermons
Do You control Your Monuments, or Do They Control You? – Shavuot 2017
Recently, the City of New Orleans removed its Confederate monuments, prompting both celebrations and protests. The actions and their aftermath reverberated across the country and, not surprisingly, into Virginia. Protests and counter-protests erupted – violently – in Charlottesville a couple … Continue reading
Posted in Sermons
Tagged civil war, confederate monuments, culture, current-events, education, history, ioldatry, politics, race, racism, religion, social justice, society, terrorism
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One Community, One Campus: Rosh Hashanah Day 1, 5777
Of all the enemies our ancestors faced in antiquity, perhaps none were more fearsome than the Assyrians. Around 900 BCE, Assyria began to conquer much of what was at the time the known world. The empire Assyria built stretched from … Continue reading
Posted in Sermons
Tagged American Judaism, Conservative Judaism, faith, High Holidays, High Holy Days, Jewish holidays, Judaism, religion, rosh hashanah, spirituality, synagogue, synagogues
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Baccalaureate Address for Maggie Walker Governor’s School, Class of 2016
I want to begin by expressing my gratitude for having been invited here this evening. It is such an honor to be with you, to celebrate this extraordinary milestone with you and your families. I want to share a story … Continue reading
Our Kids – Yom Kippur 5776/2015
They have become the most powerful symbols of the past year. But before they were symbols, they were people. Early each morning, sometimes before sunrise, 3 year-old Aylan would sneak quietly out of his bed, shuffle softly against the stone … Continue reading
Posted in Sermons
Tagged #blacklivesmatter, equality, ethics, exodus, God, justice, our kids, race, racism, refugee crisis, social justice, syria
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Mastering the Service of the Heart – Kol Nidrei 5776/2015
At its heart, Yom Kippur is about forgiveness, about each of us having an opportunity to enter into the new year with a clean slate, absolved of our past transgressions. Forgiveness, however, requires confession. In order to be freed of … Continue reading
The Power to Choose – Rosh Hashanah Day 2 5776/2015
There’s a line in the classic sci-fi popcorn film Terminator 2: Judgment Day that I’ve always found to be very powerful, and very challenging. John Connor, the leader of the human resistance against the machines, says: “The future is not … Continue reading
Posted in Sermons
Tagged blame, free will, freedom, Israel, palestine, rawabi, repentance, responsibility, teshuvah
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Where They Are – Rosh Hashanah Day 1 5776/2015
What would it look like for synagogues to truly meet people where they are? Lessons from God and Wall Drug. Continue reading
Posted in Sermons
Tagged community, Conservative Judaism, Conversion, Jewish holidays, outreach, rosh hashanah, synagogues
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