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Read Rabbi Knopf’s Recent Posts
- Shabbat for Shabbat’s Sake: Parashat Sh’lakh Lekha 5782 June 25, 2022
- Embrace the Wilderness: Parashat Beha’alotekha 5782 June 21, 2022
- Message to the Class of 2022 June 20, 2022
- Punk’s Not Dead, It’s Jewish: Shavuot 5782 June 7, 2022
- ‘Earn This’: Last Day of Passover 5782 April 24, 2022
Tag Archives: personal
Spiritual Revolutionaries: Making Religion Meaningful in the 21st Century
On December 1 and 2, 2018, I participated in an interfaith “pulpit swap” with my dear friend and colleague, Rev. Hollie Woodruff, of Seventh Street Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Richmond. She preached to my congregation on Saturday, and … Continue reading
Posted in Public Statements, Sermons
Tagged Chanukah, current-events, faith, Hanukkah, interfaith, morality, personal, politics, religion, social justice, society
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The Responsibilities of Privilege
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about luck. It all started this past summer, when my friend Nadya invited me to her naturalization ceremony. Now, I’d never been to such a ceremony before. But I assumed it would be a … Continue reading
Posted in Sermons
Tagged current-events, history, immigration, personal, politics, prayer, religion, repentance, responsibility, social justice, society, tefillah, teshuvah, tikkun olam, tzedakah
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You Don’t Need Likes to Be Loved
With your permission, I want to share something personal tonight. My hope is that, by baring a little of my soul, I might offer us all a new framework to embrace this holiday. Too often, we encounter Yom Kippur as … Continue reading
Posted in Sermons
Tagged addiction, celebrities, faith, health, Money, personal, philosophy, positive psychology, psychology, religion, social media, society, spirituality
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Just Walk Beside Me
Some of my earliest and sweetest Jewish memories are of Junior Congregation at my childhood synagogue, Ahavath Achim in Atlanta. In those days, Junior Congregation was led by a kind and energetic woman named Janet Schatten. One of the first … Continue reading
Listen to Her Voice!
Picture, if you will, a world of rigid hierarchies, where men control women’s lives, and women are used for their bodies. Perhaps it sounds like I am describing The Handmaid’s Tale, the classic dystopian novel by Margaret Atwood that was … Continue reading
Posted in Sermons
Tagged #MeToo, culture, current-events, equality, feminism, God, justice, personal, politics, religion, social justice, society, women
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The World is Yours, But it Doesn’t Belong to You
On June 14, 2018, I was honored to speak to the graduating class of Maggie Walker Governor’s School at their Baccalaureate ceremony. Here’s what I said: Class of 2018, Let me begin by expressing my gratitude for having been invited … Continue reading
Posted in Public Statements, Reflections, Sermons
Tagged community, current-events, gratitude, growth, history, human-rights, justice, peace, personal, politics, prayer, religion, social justice, society, spirituality, terrorism
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Pray for Healing, Fight for Justice: A Response to the Sutherland Springs Mass-Shooting
I am heartbroken over the news of yesterday’s mass shooting at First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas. 26 people, ranging from toddlers to retirees, including eight members of a single family, were murdered in cold blood. I extend my … Continue reading
Posted in Reflections, Uncategorized
Tagged Gun Control, Guns, personal, politics, religion, social justice, society, terrorism
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Welcome Akiva Betzalel Knopf
We are proud to announce that we have named our son Akiva Betzalel. With your indulgence, we’d be honored to share a little about the names we’ve chosen, and about Akiva’s namesakes. The poet Carl Sandburg once said, “A baby … Continue reading
Posted in Reflections
Tagged bris, justice, names, personal, resistance, social justice
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Extremists for Love – Yom Kippur 2017
In June 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke before a large crowd in Detroit. In his speech, King argued that, despite the dangers of nonviolent resistance, “there are some things so dear, some things so precious, some things so eternally … Continue reading
Posted in Sermons
Tagged current-events, ethics, faith, history, human dignity, justice, Martin Luther King, personal, philosophy, politics, religion, social justice, society
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Three Essentials to Pack for Your Journey – Kol Nidrei 2017
“Birth is a beginning/ and death a destination./ And life is a journey.” The notion that our lives are a journey, and that we, in our fallibility, might have gone off course, haunts us each Yom Kippur. On eight separate … Continue reading
Posted in Sermons
Tagged culture, faith, health, history, Jewish holidays, parents, personal, prayer, religion, spirituality, wisdom, Yom Kippur
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Rabbi Michael Rose Knopf 