Sermons
Rabbi Esther Hugenholtz’s sermons connect Jewish tradition with the real questions we face today. Her teachings offer gentle insight, spiritual grounding, and a thoughtful moral voice. We hope these reflections bring perspective, meaning, and encouragement to your own journey.
Storm-tossed
The stars in the sky shone brightly and clearly and I could point out Orion and the Big Dipper to my children on our evening walk. The neighborhood was cast in darkness and we picked our way past downed trees and broken branches by the light of the stars and our flashlights.
A More Perfect Union
One possible approach to the notion of exceptionism is to do something that we Jews are so very good at: love critically.
Grasshopper
They locked eyes in the darkness and he could faintly make out the contours of her face. Her brown skin, a muted warm glow, framed by her dark tresses and red veil; all colors bled of their vibrancy by the pallid moonlight.
The Great Reset
There’s a Dutch saying ‘er op of er onder!’, which translates literally as ‘on top of it or underneath’, meaning that we will either succeed gloriously or fail spectacularly but we need to give it everything we’ve got because the time is now.
The Dark Heart of Power
The cruelty and mystery of Leviticus 18:22 and 20:1 cannot be understated. Embedded among cultic taboos circumscribing forbidden intimate relations in Parashat Acharei Mot, and juxtaposed with verses exhorting ethical conduct in K’doshim, stands the prohibition against ‘offering up offspring to Molekh’.
Alone but not Lonely
Each of us is waging a war, fighting a battle. Each of us will have to contend with what this all means for our souls as well as our bodies.
Four Cubits
Why does God only have four cubits of Halakhah?
The Cleft of the Rock
By the time I am giving this sermon, our Sedarim will have ended. Still, right now, I am seated at my dining room table, the scents of chicken soup wafting through the kitchen door.
Healing in Its Wings
Theology is not merely the futile exercise of debating how many angels dance on the head of a pin. Theology informs our world view and drafts our response to the moral issues of our day.