Sermons of Rabbi Barry H. D. Block

bblock@beth-elsa.org Rabbi Block's E-Mailbox

High Holy Day Sermons

• Tough Choices Yom Kippur Day -- September 28, 2009
  
• Nevertheless... Yom Kippur Eve -- September 27, 2009
  
• A Shanah Tovah, Yes; But Will It Be Happy? Rosh Hashanah Eve -- September 18, 2009
  
• The Heart of the Temple Yom Kippur Day -- October 9, 2008
  
• The Heart of Humanity Yom Kippur Eve -- October 8, 2008
  
• The Heart of Judaism Rosh Hashanah Eve -- September 29, 2008
  
• Apologizing and Forgiving: How and When Yom Kippur Day -- September 22, 2007
  
• Avinu Malkeinu: Divine Oxymoron Yom Kippur Eve -- September 21, 2007
  
• Reproach Your Neighbor as Yourself Rosh Hashanah Eve -- September 12, 2007
  
• Making Memory Matter Yom Kippur Day Yizkor-Memorial Services -- October 2, 2006
  
• The Book of Life Yom Kippur Day -- October 2, 2006
  
• The Way We Feel Tonight Yom Kippur Eve -- October 1, 2006
  
• Recognizing a Miracle Rosh Hashanah Day -- September 23, 2006
  
• "My Heart Is in the East:" Israel and Us in 2006-5767 Rosh Hashanah Eve -- September 22, 2006
  
• Land and Life in Israel, 5766 Yom Kippur Day -- October 13, 2005
  
• "Moral Values" and American Public Life Yom Kippur Eve -- October 12, 2005
  
• Who Shall Live and Who Shall Die: The Limits of God's Power Rosh Hashanah Eve -- October 3, 2005
  
• Faith in the Face of Death Yom Kippur Day - Yizkor Service -- September 25, 2004
  
• America's War - Military Sacrifice Yom Kippur Day -- September 25, 2004
  
• America and the Jewish People at 350 Yom Kippur Eve -- September 24, 2004
  
• New Beginnings Rosh Hashanah Eve -- September 15, 2004
  
• Saying Kaddish Yom Kippur Day - Yizkor Service -- October 6, 2003
  
• Diversity or Disunity: When Jews Disagree about Israel Yom Kippur Eve -- October 5, 2003
  
• Together for the Holidays: You, Me, Us, and God Rosh Hashanah Eve -- September 26, 2003
  
• Life After Death Yom Kippur Day - Yizkor Service -- September 16, 2002
  
• The Sin of Temple Beth-El Yom Kippur Eve -- September 15, 2002
  
• Taking Stock of a Difficult Year Rosh Hashanah Eve -- September 6, 2002
  
• The End of Days September 27, 2001
  
• Avinu, Malkeinu: Response to Terror September 18, 2001
  
• The Mess in Texas October 9, 2000
  
• Living with Ambiguity September 30, 2000
  
• Reform Judaism: Preserving the Past - Facing Tomorrow September 20, 1999
  
• Coping with Happiness September 11, 1999
  
• Sacrifice September 30, 1998
  
• Disappointment September 21, 1998
  
• Public Education in San Antonio October 11, 1997
  
• Death and the Meaning of Life October 2, 1997
  
• Unconditional Love September 23, 1996
  
• The Healing Power of Prayer September 14, 1996
  
• What We Can Learn From Christmas September 25, 1995
  
• God vs. Social Action: The Choice is LifeOctober 4, 1995

Shabbat Sermons

• Partisanship: What We Can Learn from 1st Century Judea February 5, 2010
  
• Does God Care What We Eat? January 22, 2010
  
• A Jewish Perspective on the Native American Experience November 27, 2009
  
• Homework October 16, 2009
  
• Empathy and Jewish Jurisprudence September 11, 2009
  
• Jewish Laws for Forwarding Email August 28, 2009
  
• Beyond Translation: Changes to the Shema in Mishkan T'filah July 31, 2009
  
• Zealotry: A Jewish View June 5, 2009
  
• Just War: Why Afghanistan is Different May 8, 2009
  
• "Socialism" in Israel and the United States April 24, 2009
  
• What I Learned from Rabbi Jacobson April 10, 2009
  
• Did Pharoah Cause the Recession? April 3, 2009
  
• Israel 2009: An Eyewitness Report March 13, 2009
  
• Hebrew in Mishkan T'filah, Our New Reform Prayerbook January 16, 2009
  
• They Changed the Shema...Again! January 9, 2009
  
• Were All "Men" Created Equal? October 24, 2008
  
• This Too Shall Pass October 17, 2008
  
• Torah, Justice, and Texas Tort Reform September 5, 2008
  
• The Importance of a Candidate's Faith August 15, 2008
  
• Denial and Despair August 8, 2008
  
• The Meaning of the Eternal Light June 13, 2008
  
• Every Temple is a Synagogue; So Why Isn't Every Synagogue a Temple? June 6, 2008
  
• African American Rage, and Our Own May 30, 2008
  
• The United Methodist Church, Israel, and Us May 16, 2008
  
• Hope Springs Eternal April 18, 2008
  
• Is Men's Spirituality Unique? February 29, 2008
  
• Pastor Hagee and Our Jewish Federation December 21, 2007
  
• The Paradox of Humility and Self-Esteem November 16, 2007
  
• Different Versions of the Truth November 2, 2007
  
• Freedom of Religion: Whether We Like it or Not October 12, 2007
  
• The Most Important Jew Who Ever Lived August 31, 2007
  
• Why I Drive a Prius August 24, 2007
  
• Israel's Separation Barrier: When Something Bad is Good June 1, 2007
  
• Memorial Day: Israel and America May 25, 2007
  
• Shunning President Carter March 30, 2007
  
• A Reform Rabbi Observes Changes in Conservative Judaism January 5, 2007
  
• Jewish Views of the "Third Rail" of Texas Politics November 24, 2006
  
• The Rabbi Reports from Israel November 3, 2006
  
• Reflections Before the High Holy Days September 15, 2006
  
• Courage in Israel, 2006: From Naharia to San Antonio September 1, 2006
  
• Immigration in 2006: Would I Break the Law? June 23, 2006
  
• Biblical Hints for Healthy Sibling Relationships March 24, 2006
  
• "Thou Shalt Not Steal:" A Controversial Commandment? February 17, 2006
  
• "Let My People Go:" Invading Egypt and Modern Iraq February 3, 2006
  
• The Mitzvah of American Military Service December 9, 2005
  
• What's So Intelligent about "Intelligent Design?" October 28, 2005
  
• The Texas Marriage Amendment: Nonsense in November October 21, 2005
  
• L'dor vador: From Generation to Generation September 23, 2005
  
• The New Orleans I Love September 16, 2005
  
• What's Good Enough in Texas Public Schools? August 12, 2005
  
• Facing Life's Greatest Challenges June 24, 2005
  
• The Source of Blessing June 10, 2005
  
• Advocating for Israel When Circumstances Change May 13, 2005
  
• When One Prayerbook Gives Way to Another April 22, 2005
  
• The Terri Schiavo Case: A Jewish View March 25, 2005
  
• The Jew as Money Lender March 11, 2005
  
• Where is God in the Natural Disaster? March 4, 2005
  
• Can a First-Rate Nursing Home Survive? February 18, 2005
  
• Cruelty to Animals: A Jewish Issue January 7, 2005
  
• Does God Belong in the Workplace? December 3, 2004
  
• Philip Roth's The Plot Against America: A Pulpit Review November 19, 2004
  
• Just Back from Israel: A Rabbi's Report October 29, 2004
  
• If the Flood is a Myth, What about the Rainbow? October 15, 2004
  
• Counting Our Blessings October 1, 2004
  
• Prophet, Priest or Pastor: The Rabbi on the High Holy Days September 10, 2004
  
• Sudan: Why Jews Must Break the Silence August 27, 2004
  
• What Difference Does Conversion Make? June 11, 2004
  
• Loyalty and Love at Temple Beth-El April 2, 2004
  
• Hunger in Texas: What Can One Temple Do? March 26, 2004
  
• Anti-Semitism in 2004 February 13, 2004
  
• Hating the President: A New American Tradition? January 16, 2004
  
• Jewish Family and Children's Service: A Sacred Obligation November 21, 2003
  
• The Truth about Islam October 31, 2003
  
• Morality and the Texas Legislature October 3, 2003
  
• What I Learned From My Summer Reading July 25, 2003
  
• Reform Judaism in Israel: Why It Matters May 30, 2003
  
• A Service Without a Rabbi?: Introducing the Shlihei Tzibbur (Worship Leaders) Corps May 16, 2003
  
• War in Iraq: One American Jewish Perspective April 18, 2003
  
• Thoughts and Prayers at a Time of War March 21, 2003
  
• Health: Whose Body Is It Anyway? March 7, 2003
  
• Construction at the Temple: What Have We Learned? February 21, 2003
  
• Interfaith Relations in a New Era November 29, 2002
  
• Mental Illness:The Moral Imperative October 25, 2002
  
• The Morality of Abstinence-Only Sex Education August 23, 2002
  
• The Mitzvah of Serving our Country June 28, 2002
  
• Passover 2002/5762: Struggle for Freedom in Israel April 5, 2002
  
• Israel 2002: An Eyewitness Report March 15, 2002
  
• Anti-Semitism in the San Antonio Express-News? February 15, 2002
• Does God Pray? January 18, 2002
  
• Anti-Zionism in Early American Reform Judaism December 21, 2001
  
• Just and Unjust War November 16, 2001
  
• Why Zionism Is Not Racist October 26, 2001
  
• Stem Cells, Cloning, and Judaism September 14, 2001
  
• Did the Exodus Really Happen? June 1, 2001
  
• Clinton Pardons - Jewish Disgrace April 27, 2001
  
• COPS, Metro Alliance and Us March 16, 2001
  
• "Jesus" Is Not a Dirty Word March 3, 2001
  
• Israel and American Jews in Difficult Times February 16, 2001
  
• Reform Judaism's New Perspective on Keeping Kosher January 19, 2001
  
• Senator Lieberman and the Sabbath September 8, 2000
  
• Blood on Our Hands Introduction to the Prayer for Peace in response to the execution of Gary Graham -- June 23, 2000
  
• The Mitzvah of Marital Fidelity May 5, 2000
  
• How a Reform Jew Keeps Passover April 14, 2000
  
• The Blessing of a Name March 10, 2000
  
• February 29 Is Coming: The Jewish Holidays Will Be Late February 25, 2000
  
• Prayer for Shabbat on the Eve of the Millennium December 31, 1999
  
• Awaiting a Y2K Baby December 17, 1999
  
• Planned Parenthood's 60th Anniversary in San Antonio: Cause for Celebration? November 19, 1999
  
• Separation of Prayer and Football October 29, 1999
  
• One Holy Day or Two? May 21, 1999
  
• The Holocaust, Israel and Us April 23, 1999
  
• Jewish Day School Education in San Antonio: A 1999 Update March 19, 1999
  
• Life is Beautiful: A Holocaust Comedy? February 5, 1999
  
• The Prince of Egypt: A Pulpit Review January 15, 1999
  
• When Jokes Are Not Funny November 20, 1998
  
• Creation vs. Evolution: No Contest October 16, 1998
  
• What's Different about Jewish Holidays? September 18, 1998
  
• The Children Are Our Future June 5, 1998
  
• Ethical or Ritual Commandments: The Greatest Mitzvah May 8, 1998
  
• Chai on Life May 1, 1998
  
• Body Piercing, Tatoos, and the Image of God April 24, 1998
  
• The "Boring" Parts of the Torah March 20, 1998
  
• Giving Money or Giving Time: The Greatest Jewish Value February 27, 1998
  
• The Meaning of Jewish Identity January 16, 1998
  
• Angels in Judaism December 12, 1997
  
• Advertising Judaism November 21, 1997
  
• "English Only" and the Tower of Babel October 31, 1997
  
• Jewish Life on Mars September 12, 1997
  
• Does Superstition Enslave Our Minds? June 13, 1997
  
• Is Welfare a Jewish Issue? May 23, 1997
  
• Old Age: Curse or Blessing? April 18, 1997
  
• Jerusalem: The Price for Peace? March 28, 1997
  
• American Jews and Affirmative Action January 10, 1997
  
• A Kid-Friendly Congregation December 20, 1996
  
• Stealing the Birthright: Does the End Justify the Means? November 15, 1996
  
• A Jewish Perspective on Assisted Suicide October 18, 1996
  
• Reflections After Israel's Elections June 14, 1996
  
• In Defense of the Bar/Bat Mitzvah May 24, 1996
  
• The Deeper Meaning of the Hakafah April 26, 1996
  
• The Pros and Cons of Jewish Day School Education March 15, 1996
  
• The Problem with the Aleinu-Adoration January 12, 1996
  
• Why All These New Things at a Historic Reform Congregation? September 15, 1995

Other Sermons/Speeches

• A Blessing for Helen Jacobson at 100 -- April 4, 2008
  
• A Blessing for Half-Century Plus Members -- April 4, 2008
  
• How to Talk About the Crisis in Israel -- Points Prepared July 20, 2006
  
• The Impact of Hanukkah on Judaism and Christianity -- Remarks delivered at the Catholic-Jewish Hanukkah Commemoration at San Fernando Cathedral, December 13, 2004
  
• Why Christians Should Support Israel -- Sermon delivered at Trinity Baptist Church, July 25, 2004
  
• What Jews Can Learn from Christians -- Sisterhood Interfaith Sabbath Presentation, February 28, 2004
  
• Keynote Address for Martin Luther King, Jr. Interfaith Service -- January 19, 2003