Cyril, Author at Rabbi Cy Stanway

B’reishit: The Beginning We Carry, The Beginning We Build. RH Morning 2026 – Boca

Whenever I am back in Toronto visiting my parents’ grave, there are places that continue to draw me in no matter how many times I have been there. My old primary school. Junior high. High school. The temple I grew up in. All the places that were formative throughout my life. And the moment I’m…

Steel, Smoke, and Chesed: A Prayer for Twenty-Five Years – Erev Rosh Hashanna 25 Years after 9/11

How many of us remember where we were 25 years ago today? Twenty-five years is long enough that some of you weren’t even born yet, and long enough that some of us have to reach back through a quarter century of mornings to find that one morning again — but find it we do, don’t…

From Memory to Ritual

A Sermon for Parashat Ki TavoAugust 28, 2026 Imagine a farmer in ancient Israel. He has walked days to Jerusalem, a basket of first fruits balanced on his shoulder — figs, dates, pomegranates, the literal fruit of his labor. He hands the basket to the kohen, the priest in the temple. But his obligation is…

An Eiphah Shleimah: The Honest Measure of a Kehilla

This week’s parasha, Ki Teitzei, is famous for its sheer variety. In the span of a few chapters we move from the laws of the beautiful captive, to the rebellious son, to returning a neighbor’s lost ox, to the rites of levirate marriage, to the command to remember what Amalek did to us on the…

Tzedek, Tzedek Tirdof: The Justice That Never Lets You Rest

There are verses from the Torah that almost everyone seems to know. ‘In the beginning God created…’ – ‘Let my people go…’ – ‘Get up and leave your home toward the Land that I will show you…’ And, this week, in the Torah portion comes another one that may not be as well known but…

Re’eh: See What’s Set Before You

August 7, 2026 CBI Boca I came across the most interesting story the other day. It is a story about a man you probably never heard of- Morris Cohen. Here is a bit of his story: Moishe Abraham Cohen was born in London’s East End in 1887, to poor Orthodox Polish immigrants. “Fat Moishe” was…

Sermon: Parashat R’eih —Choosing Your Mountain

R’eih. See. That single word — a command, really — opens this week’s parashah. Not “hear,” not “consider,” not “reflect upon.” See or, as I like to say, Looky here!” Moses is not asking the Israelites to passively receive information. He is demanding that they open their eyes, engage their minds, and look clearly at…

East of the River: When Staying Behind Becomes a Sacred Act

Parashat Matot-MaaseiJuly 10, 2026 CBI – Boca Raton No matter how many times I have read a portion, studied some text or learned something new from the biblical luminaries of the Jewish people, it is so breathtakingly obvious how human everyone is. We may stand in awe of the likes of King David or King…

Don’t Let Yesterday Eat Your Tomorrow Parashat Eikev

I believe that every Jewish community is looking for a reason to celebrate. I mean, just look at the B’nai Israel calendar. There are more events celebrating our children, our holidays, our Shabbatot, and so forth. Every committee and every department has some kind of celebration. I am convinced that, if I wanted to, I…

The Upright Bowed Low: Parashat Vaetchan

Parashat Vaetchanan: The Fewest of All PeoplesJuly 25 There’s a verse in this week’s parasha that seems to make no sense in the context of the Torah. Moses tells the people, quite plainly, that God did not set His affection on them because they were numerous. In fact, Moses says the opposite: “for you are…