Shtender

Rabbi Knopf’s Shabbat message for Parashat Va-Et’hanan (Saturday, July 28, 2018), discussing the significance and challenge of the 10th commandment – not to desire that which does not belong to us.

Rabbi Knopf’s message for Parashat Mattot-Mase’i (July 14, 2018), discussing the importance honestly confronting the mistakes of our past in order to move forward in a positive direction.      

Guest preacher Rev. Wallace Adams-Riley discusses the intersection of race, the history of America’s South, and the implications for our lives today, sharing from his own story, his family’s story, and from his work on the History & Reconciliation Initiative at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church Richmond.

Rabbi Knopf’s address to the Maggie Walker Governor’s School graduating class of 2018, at their Baccalaureate ceremony (June 14, 2018).  

In his Yizkor message for Shavuot (May 20, 2018), Rabbi Knopf argues that it is the job of all Jews, and not just the rabbi, to minister to and care for each other.

Rabbi Knopf’s message for the first day of Shavuot (May 20, 2018), discussing the importance of treating the Torah as a living, breathing document.      

In his Shabbat message for Parashat Bamidbar (May 19, 2018), Rabbi Knopf argues that the set up of the ancient Israelites’ camp in the wilderness offers powerful guidance for our world today, where poverty and inequality are rampant, and we have an epidemic of in/visibility.

In his Shabbat message for Parashat Emor (May 5, 2018), Rabbi Knopf offers a glimpse at the true purpose of counting the Omer, through a close reading of the biblical text.      

Rabbi Knopf’s Yizkor message on the last day of Passover 2018, in which he proposes that death is, in a certain sense, an illusion. No one is ever really gone.      

On the eve of the 8th day of Passover 2018, Rabbi Knopf invites us to consider what insights from the holiday will stay with us after the holiday ends.

In his message for the second day of Passover (April 1, 2018), Rabbi Knopf explains why Diaspora Jews are inconsistent with respect to their observance of the calendar – at least as it relates to the practice of Counting the Omer – and offers a powerful contemporary message.      

In his message for the first day of Passover (March 31, 2018), Rabbi Knopf argues that the holiday’s name has been misunderstood, and its real meaning bears an important message for us all today.      

In his message for Parashat Tzav (March 24, 2018), Rabbi Knopf discusses the importance of peace in the Jewish tradition, and how those marching for gun control do so in the spirit of the Jewish quest for peace.      

Rabbi Knopf’s Shabbat message for Parashat Vayak’hel-P’kudei (March 10, 2018), discussing the Torah’s teaching that the copper washing basin in the Tabernacle was made of womens’ melted mirrors.      

Rabbi Knopf offers a fresh take on a story you thought you knew in his Shabbat message for Parashat KI Tisa.      

In his Saturday message for Parashat Terumah (February 17, 2018), Rabbi Knopf offers a rabbinic perspective on the recent school shooting in Parkland, Florida and the need for stronger gun laws in the US.      

In his message for Parashat Yitro (February 3, 2018), Rabbi Knopf explains how the 1st Commandment requires us to resist normalizing abnormal behavior in our leaders.

From the Exodus to the founding of the State of Israel, Jews have been animated by the Torah’s teaching that we must make our own miracles. But have Israeli as well as Diaspora Jews lost our ability to dictate our own destiny? And what can we do about it? Rabbi Knopf’s message for Parashat Beshallah […]

Rabbi Knopf’s message for parashat Mikketz (December 16, 2017) explores the biblical Joseph story, and discusses how it’s actually Judah’s story. And Judah’s heroic story arc has a great deal to teach us.      

Rabbi Knopf’s sermon for Yizkor on Shemini Atzeret (October 12, 2017), unpacking the meaning of the holiday, how it fits into the scheme of the high holidays, and why it matters.      

On the 2nd day of Sukkot (Friday, October 6, 2017), Rabbi Knopf explains how a famous midrash about the Lulav and Etrog teaches that we need diversity to flourish.      

On the first day of Sukkot (Thursday, October 5, 2017), Rabbi Knopf explains that the essence of a Sukkah is the people inside.      

Rabbi Knopf’s Yom Kippur 2017 sermon, identifying how we as Jews are called to live in our disorienting “post-truth” era.      

Rabbi Knopf’s Kol Nidrei eve sermon, identifying three critical spiritual lessons from, of all people, Thomas Jefferson and Lewis and Clark.      

Rabbi Knopf’s text study from the second day of Rosh Hashanah 2017, examining insights from Torah, hasidic literature, and contemporary psychology about why change is so hard, and how to do it better.      

Rabbi Knopf’s sermon from the first day of Rosh Hashanah 2017, reflections on what we can do to confront the challenge of our time, the resurgence of a newly emboldened white supremacy.      

On the Shabbat immediately following the death of one of Rabbi Knopf’s rebbes, Rabbi Sholom Brodt, founder and Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Simchat Shlomo in Jerusalem, Rabbi Knopf shares some singing and learning in his honor.  

Rabbi Knopf’s Friday message for Parashat Ekev (August 11, 2017), discussing the preciousness of our attention, the importance of mindfulness, and the gift of Shabbat that enables us to let go of all that clamors for our attention.      

Rabbi Knopf offers a special Shabbat-evening meditation at a “Hope and Healing” service, providing solace and guidance for those grappling with the tragic events in Charlottesville, Virginia the previous Shabbat.

Rabbi Knopf’s message at an interfaith prayer vigil in Richmond, held at Third Street Bethel AME Church in the wake of the Charlottesville tragedy, reminding us why we should not despair.

In his Friday evening message for Shabbat Nahamu (August, 2017), Rabbi Knopf discusses how we might alleviate some of our suffering by recognizing that almost all pain is temporary.      

In his Saturday message for Parashat Korach (June 24, 2017), Rabbi Knopf discusses some insights from the Torah about dealing with the “difficult people” in our lives.

In his Saturday message for Parashat Naso (June 3, 2017), Rabbi Knopf makes spiritual sense of an obscure birth order anomaly in the Book of Numbers.      

In his sermon for Shavuot (May 31, 2017), Rabbi Knopf argues that the 2nd of the 10 Commandments ought to ban Confederate monuments like those that stand on Richmond’s Monument Ave.      

In his Saturday message for Parashat Bemidbar (May 27, 2017), Rabbi Knopf argues that the wilderness setting of the giving of the Torah is a powerful argument for the spiritual importance of taking moments for quiet in our lives.      

Elections across the West represent the apotheosis of a big trend – people are rejecting institutions and traditional authority in a big way. While understandable in some ways, it is also a destabilizing and even dangerous phenomenon. What wisdom does the Torah have to offer for this moment? In his Shabbat message for parashat Aharei […]

In his Shabbat message for Parashat Tazria-Metzora (April 28, 2017), Rabbi Knopf discusses the relationship between the biblical leper and the modern-day refugee, and how the Torah calls us to action in our time.

In his Yizkor message for Pesach (April 18, 2017), Rabbi Knopf explains how the Jewish holidays sensitize us to God’s time, which, in turn, sensitizes us to the eternality of all life.

In his sermon for Shabbat Ha-Gadol (April 8, 2017), Rabbi Knopf discusses how a relatively obscure section of the Passover haggadah is actually central to the whole celebration, and provides profound insight about human nature as well as immeasurable wisdom for our world today.  

Rabbi Knopf’s teaching for the second day of Passover (April 12, 2017), focusing on the questions “Why isn’t Moses in the haggadah” and, “If Moses isn’t important enough for the haggadah, why is he in the Torah?”

In his Saturday message for Parashat Mishpatim (February 25, 2017), Rabbi Knopf argues that, while the Torah may not always necessarily align with today’s conservative or liberal political views, it is a political document with teachings that apply to today’s political debates.      

In his Saturday message for Parashat Yitro (February 18, 2017), Rabbi Knopf discusses the Jewish obligation to care for refugees and immigrants.      

In his Saturday message for Parashat Be-Shallah (February 11, 2017), Rabbi Knopf explains the function of miracle stories in the Bible, and how to experience miracles even in our time.    

In his Saturday message for Parashat Bo (February 4, 2017), Rabbi Knopf argues that a central message of the Exodus narrative is obedience to God and no other master, a message with profound moral and political implications, especially for our time.    

In his Saturday message for Parashat Shemot (January 21, 2017), Rabbi Knopf explains his solidarity with the Women’s March on Washington and his support for the Jewish Resistance against Trumpism.

In his Saturday message for Parashat Va-Yeshev (December 24, 2016), Rabbi Knopf talks about some lessons he learned from a recent terrifying car accident.

In his Saturday message for Parashat Va-Yetzei (December 10, 2016), Rabbi Knopf discusses the role Jews must play in our “post-truth” era of American life.

In his message for Yizkor on Shemini Atzeret (October 24, 2016), Rabbi Knopf shows the wisdom in the apparent contradiction of Yizkor and Simhat Torah.      

In his Saturday message for Parashat Lekh Lekha (November 12, 2016), Rabbi Knopf shows how an obscure part of Abraham’s story can guide us after the 2016 presidential election.      

Rabbi Knopf’s Friday evening message for Parashat Lekh Lekha (November 11, 2016), discussing how we move forward as Jews in the wake of an unprecedented and disorienting election season.