THE AGE OF AGE
CHAIYAE SARAH – Gainesville When I was 11 years old, I distinctly remember going to my grandfather’s 70th birthday. This was in 1970. And, as is often the case, one moment has stayed with me throughout my life. That moment was when I saw my grandfather simply walking across the living room. I recall his…
WHERE’S GOD IN THIS MESS?
PARASHAT VAYEIRA – GAINESVILLE The Torah likes to talk in coded language, or at least we read Torah as if it’s speaking in a coded language. That’s what’s happening this week. Take a listen to opening verse: וַיֵּרָ֤א אֵלָיו֙ יְהוָ֔ה ‘God appeared to him by the terebinths of Mamre.’ The ‘him’ in this case is…
PEOPLE INTO PEOPLE – PARASHAT LECH LECHA
Rabbi Cy Stanway – Gainesville The parasha this week is something of a pivot point, if you think about it. But it’s a pivot point that has been somewhat misunderstood. Let me explain. You see, up to this point the Torah has been concerned with really big things. Creation of the universe. Adam and Eve,…
A SERIOUS PROBLEM – CREATION
Bereshit – Gainesville Welcome back to the beginning of the Torah and probably the most misunderstood portion in Western religious history. This is because, more than any other section of the bible, so many people take this portion completely literally. The earth was created in 6 days. Man and woman created on the seventh. There was a talking serpert…
COMMANDED TO BE HAPPY -HUH?
SUKKOT GAINESVILLE Americans have a deep desire to either be happy, pretend we are happy, or make everyone else happy! In Teen Academy class, during a very spirited discussion of suicide and the Jewish texts around that difficult subject, one of the students suggested that it is our job to talk someone into happiness and…
2 Years of War: Yom Kippur Morning
Yom Kippur Morning Rabbi Cy Stanway American society loves to assign names to significant and, oftentimes, not-so-significant events. Every month brings with it a whole set of “Whatever Appreciation of the Month.” There is everything from Cheese Appreciation Month to Hug Your Podiatrist Month. I am not sure who pays attention to all or any…
Mistakes but Hope: Erev Yom Kippur
Shir Shalom – Gainesville Temple Shir Shalom: Gainesville Rabbi Cy Stanway When I became an American many years ago, someone told me that it is now my duty to pay attention to baseball. Taking their admonition to heart, I did what I always do when I need to expose myself to something: I bought a…
The End of the Matter: Rosh Hashanna Morning
Rosh Hashanna Morning 2025 – GainesvilleRabbi Cy Stanway Several years ago, the tabloids had a field day when the beautiful, young, troubled Christina Onassis committed suicide, leaving behind her five-year-old daughter. In a phrase that probably encapsulated much of her tragic depression, the papers defined her as the “heiress to the Onassis fortune.” In other…
Returning to my Roots: Erev Rosh Hashanna
Gainesville, 2025 Even though I pretty in the dark about baseball, even I know the iconic picture of Babe Ruth from Game 3 of the 1932 World Series against the Chicago Cubs. In the fifth inning, Ruth stepped up to the plate, gestured toward the outfield, and hit the next pitch over the wall. This…
Standing Up Together
Nitzavim – Gainesville I am not sure why, but this week’s portion is my all-time favorite. I have tried to understand why I like it so much. The only thing I can think of is its striking imagery. Atem nitzavim hayom – You are standing here together today, all of you…” With these words, Moses…
