In this sermon on Parshat Vayechi, Rabbi Gellman explores what it means to gather—again and again—especially when it’s inconvenient, exhausting, or uncertain. Drawing on the final moments of Jacob’s life and the legacy he leaves through Joseph and his children, Rabbi Gellman reflects on how Jewish continuity is built not through passion alone, but through repeated acts of presence, honesty, and shared values.
From lifelong friendships forged at Jewish summer camp to the quiet courage it takes to walk into a community for the first time, this sermon invites us to consider what we choose to gather around, what we bless, and what we carry forward together. Because Judaism doesn’t endure by accident—it endures because people keep showing up.
Recorded live on Friday, Dec. 26, 2025
In a world shaped by relentless trauma, violence, and uncertainty, many of us have learned to numb ourselves just to get through the day. In this deeply moving sermon, Rabbi Antman explores what it means to feel again—and why doing so is essential to healing.
Weaving together personal reflection, the rising tide of antisemitism, modern psychology, and the biblical story of Joseph in Parshat Vayigash, Rabbi Antman examines how emotional paralysis can become a survival strategy—and how tears, vulnerability, and honest feeling can become a path back to ourselves. Drawing on Torah, contemporary research, and moments of profound human connection, this sermon invites us to honor the cracks in our hearts as the beginning of repair.
As we enter a new year, this episode offers a gentle but urgent reminder: our emotions are not a weakness. They are an instrument of healing.
Recorded live on Friday, Dec. 19, 2025. What if Chanukah isn’t just a gentle holiday of light—but a bold statement about power, identity, and refusal to disappear?
In this sermon, Rabbi Scott Gellman reframes Chanukah as a story of Jewish power rooted not in dominance, but in conviction, communal courage, and moral clarity. Beneath the candles, latkes, and familiar melodies lies a confrontational narrative about who gets to define Jewish life—and what it means to remain visible in a world that often demands erasure.
Drawing connections between ancient empires, modern antisemitism, interfaith courage, and Reform Jewish values, Rabbi Gellman invites us to rethink how we show up in the world. From the Maccabees to Joseph, from public resistance to quiet acts of continuity, this sermon calls us to embrace a Judaism that is lived, substantive, and unapologetically present.
This Chanukah, may we wish one another something deeper than “happy.”
Have a powerful Chanukah.
What is hope, really—and can it be measured?
In this special guest conversation, recorded at a live event on Dec. 5, Rabbi Scott Gellman sits down with political psychologist Dr. Oded Leshem, founder of the International Hub for Hope Research (ReHOPE) at Hebrew University and author of Hope Amidst Conflict. Together, they explore hope not as a vague slogan, but as a measurable force with two dimensions: what we wish for, and what we believe is possible.
From the difference between hope and wishful thinking to why hope only counts when it’s tied to action, Dr. Leshem offers a powerful framework for anyone trying to hold onto tikvah in complicated times.
Recorded live on Dec. 12, 2025, Rabbi Max Antman explores Parashat Vayeshev in a sermon titled “Between Truth and Peace.” Drawing on a powerful midrash about the angels of truth and peace, Rabbi Antman reflects on the danger of wielding truth without compassion and the spiritual cost of honesty that fractures relationships rather than heals them.
Through the story of Joseph and his brothers, contemporary examples, and personal reflection, this sermon asks what it means to balance emet (truth) and shalom (peace) in a world shaped by trauma, misinformation, and division. Rabbi Antman challenges us to consider not only whether something is true, but how and why we choose to say it — and invites us to speak in ways that build dignity, connection, and hope.
Recorded live on Dec. 5, 2025, Temple Sholom welcomes political psychologist Dr. Oded Leshem for a special Shabbat exploring what it means to hope in times of crisis. Drawing on Parashat Vayishlach and his research on “hope amidst conflict,” Dr. Leshem reflects on Jacob’s struggle as a model for active hope—the kind that both comforts and compels us to act. He considers how hope can shape Israeli and global society today, from social movements and war-weariness to rebuilding the relationship between Israel and Jewish communities around the world.
An intimate, pre-Shabbat conversation between Rabbi Angela Warnick Buchdahl and Rabbi Shoshanah Conover explores the stories and spirituality behind Buchdahl’s new memoir, Heart of a Stranger. Together they reflect on identity, belonging, and the “heart of a stranger” as a profoundly Jewish experience—shaped by family, resilience, and honest self-examination. They speak candidly about building communities where all feel seen, confronting painful truths in Jewish institutions, and leading with vulnerability. The gathering closed, fittingly, with a rendition of Debbie Friedman’s ‘L’chi Lach’.
Recorded live on Nov. 28, 2025, Cantor Ben-David offers a heartfelt and deeply human reflection. Drawing on Parashat Vayetze and the week of Thanksgiving, she explores Jacob’s complicated family story—not as distant biblical history, but as a mirror to our own lives filled with love, frustration, longing, jealousy, gratitude, and growth.
Through humor, Torah, and honest storytelling, Cantor Ben-David highlights the sacred work of looking out for one another, embracing our role as each other’s gabbai—a safety net—and practicing shmirat haguf, the care and guardianship of our bodies and our community.
In this week’s sermon recorded live on Nov. 21, 2025, on Parashat Toldot, Rabbi Scott Gellman explores what happens when we mistake blessings for something scarce — something to hoard, compete for, or trademark like a plant at the Chicago Botanic Garden. Through the story of Jacob and Esau, and through the lived reality of North Side Chicago’s vibrant Jewish ecosystem, Rabbi Gellman invites us into a theology of abundance: a world where community, compassion, and justice grow when shared. With reflections on homelessness, immigration, and mental health, he reminds us that each person has a unique blessing to bring — and that when we trust one another to carry our lanes of sacred work, our collective blessings multiply.
Temple Sholom welcomed Rabbi Angela Buchdahl, Senior Rabbi of Central Synagogue in New York City, for an unforgettable Shabbat filled with song, spirit, and storytelling. Rabbi Buchdahl reflected on her remarkable journey—from her interfaith upbringing in Korea to becoming the first Asian American ordained as both cantor and rabbi—and spoke about her latest book, Heart of a Stranger: An Unlikely Rabbi's Story of Faith, Identity, and Belonging.
This episode was recorded live on Nov. 14, 2025 | Temple Sholom of Chicago
Recorded live on Nov. 7, 2025
In this week’s sermon on Parashat Vayeira, Rabbi Scott Gellman explores what it means to build real community across profound differences. Inspired by a viral video of middle-schoolers belting out a K-Pop song together—off-beat, imperfect, but united—he turns to Abraham’s open-sided tent as a model for radical hospitality and shared purpose. In a moment when political, religious, and social divides feel sharper than ever, Rabbi Gellman reflects on how his own congregation already embodies a living coalition: praying together, serving together, and choosing human dignity over ideological purity. This is a call to widen our circles, trust the “music” of our shared values, and bring the compassion of our sanctuary into the streets of Chicago and beyond. Shabbat Shalom.
Recorded live on Oct. 31, 2025 | Parshat Lech Lecha
Rabbi Antman draws on a midrash about Avram and the “palace in flames” to explore what it means to see a burning world and choose responsibility over resignation. Interweaving personal family history and the call of Lech Lecha, he challenges us to sharpen our awareness—to stop, notice, and respond when injustice, pain, or indifference threaten to consume what is sacred. With moral clarity and compassion, Rabbi Antman reminds us that being a caretaker of God’s world is the holiest inheritance we can claim.
Recorded live on Oct. 24, 2025 | Shabbat Noach
In this moving Shabbat sermon, Rabbi Scott Gellman explores how the story of Noah’s Ark teaches us to temper our joy with empathy. Drawing on Rashi’s commentary and Talmudic wisdom, he reflects on what it means to hold space—tzimtzum—for others’ pain while celebrating our own blessings. Through the metaphor of the ark, Rabbi Gellman invites us to “seatbelt our simchah,” embracing joy that is mindful, compassionate, and rooted in responsibility, so that no one is left to drown while we dance.
Temple Sholom recently launched its historic Be the Flame Campaign to restore its almost 100-year-old building! Leading the charge on this campaign are its co-chairs, Ken and Kathy Tallering. This week our clergy invited Ken and Kathy to sit down for a discussion about this historic campaign and its importance to the future of our vibrant community! You can learn more and make a donation at https://www.sholomchicago.org/betheflame.
Recorded live on Oct. 10, 2025 | Shabbat Sukkot
In this Sukkot sermon, Rabbi Antman reflects on the fragile balance between sorrow and celebration in a time of tentative peace. Drawing on Proverbs, Rabbi Nachman of Breslav, and firsthand reflections on the war in Israel and Gaza, he explores how the Jewish heart can hold both marah (bitterness) and simchah (joy). With tenderness and hope, Rabbi Antman reminds us that true holiness emerges not from denying pain, but from gently introducing it to joy—embracing both as sacred parts of the human experience.
Recorded live on Oct. 3, 2025 | Shabbat Ha’azinu
In this Shabbat sermon, Rabbi Gellman connects the ancient words of Ha’azinu—“this is not a trifling thing for you; it is your very life”—to a deeply contemporary call for justice and compassion in Chicago. Reflecting on a recent federal raid in the South Shore neighborhood, Rabbi Gellman explores what it means to live out Torah through proximity, empathy, and action. He invites us to transform faith from theory into shared breath—building a “sukkah of peace” that shelters all our neighbors.
In this Yizkor sermon recorded live on Oct. 2, 2025, Rabbi Antman reflects on memory, loss, and the enduring “ripples” our loved ones leave behind. Drawing on the wisdom of Torah, midrash, psychology, and personal family stories—including his late Aunt Cynthia’s influence—he explores how the lives of those we cherish continue to shape us long after they are gone. Through remembrance, ritual, and the legacies we carry forward, Rabbi Antman invites us to honor those who inspired us and to let their echoes guide us into the future with love and reverence.
In this Yom Kippur sermon recorded live on Oct. 2, 2025, Rabbi Gellman reflects on the crisis of disconnection facing young men today and the broader challenge of building compassionate communities in uncertain times. Drawing on his grandfather’s wisdom, Jewish texts, and the research of Robert Putnam and Richard Reeves, Rabbi Gellman contrasts a culture that prizes toughness with a Jewish call to “walk like a mensch.” He explores how patience, curiosity, and vulnerability can become the true hallmarks of strength—helping us all nurture connection, emotional intelligence, and sacred community.
In this Kol Nidre service recorded live on Oct. 1, 2025, Rabbi Conover reflects on how anger, conflict, and the need to be “right” have fractured conversations in Jewish life—especially around Israel and Gaza—and invites us to rediscover the holiness of whispers, empathy, and listening. Drawing from Yehuda Amichai’s poetry, Hillel’s teachings, and the voices of both Jewish survival and universal justice, Rabbi Conover calls for a Judaism rooted in both courage and compassion. The service concludes with Cantor Sheera Ben-David leading a stirring anthem, weaving music and prayer into a vision of healing, unity, and hope.
In this Rosh Hashanah sermon recorded live on Sept. 23, 2025, Rabbi Shoshanah Conover explores the meaning of hope in uncertain times. Drawing on the instinct of elephants protecting their young during an earthquake, her encounter with a political psychologist in Jerusalem, and George Frederick Watts’ evocative painting Hope, she reminds us that true hope is not blind optimism, but active courage. Rabbi Conover challenges us to make music with the “one remaining chord,” and to preserve the future together through community, resilience, and faith.