tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3136950361149392102024-03-15T20:20:42.095-06:00Rabbi Joe BlackBlog of Rabbi Joe Black, Senior RabbiRabbi Joe Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09392641515181150108noreply@blogger.comBlogger317125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-313695036114939210.post-83768068235849699822024-03-07T11:32:00.001-07:002024-03-07T11:32:35.458-07:00Opening Prayer for the Colorado State House of Representatives at the Halfway Point of the SessionOur God who calls us to reflect on
who we are and why we are here:
This morning, we come together in
this sacred place as we near the half-way point of our legislative
session. We marvel at the passage of
time while simultaneously feeling the anxiety of the layers of unfinished
business that loom in front of us. In a
world that all too often demands unyielding perfection from its Rabbi Joe Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09392641515181150108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-313695036114939210.post-41952555446397559472024-02-28T20:53:00.004-07:002024-02-28T20:58:56.922-07:00Opening Prayer for the Colorado House of Representatives on "Leap Day."
Our God who dwells on High.Our God who walks in the street.Our God whose voice rolls down like thunder.Our God who we find in the doubts that plague us in the middle of the night.Today is the 29th
of February. This day that only occurs every 4 years reminds us that, in our
desire to find order in the chaos of the cosmos, we need to adjust our calendars
so that we might continue to number our Rabbi Joe Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09392641515181150108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-313695036114939210.post-31514114222983286912024-02-21T21:55:00.001-07:002024-02-21T22:04:46.813-07:00Opening Prayer for the CO House of Representatives around Presidents' Day 2/22/24 Our
God and God of all people:
God of the rich
God of the poor
God of the refugee
God of the soldier
God of the homeless
God of the comfortable
God of those who have no God…
Today would have been my
mother’s 98th Birthday. It
also happens to be the birthday of our nation’s 1st president,
George Washington. Last Monday, our country celebrated President’s Day where we
Rabbi Joe Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09392641515181150108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-313695036114939210.post-66254518615400357452024-02-21T21:30:00.007-07:002024-02-21T21:48:38.241-07:00Breaking the Chains of Captivity in Gaza - Israel BlogI spent this past weekend in St. Louis, MO where I attended Songleader Bootcamp (SLBC) – a
yearly celebration of Jewish music, spirituality, and leadership. This is the 5th
year that I have been honored to serve as a Core Educator at SLBC. In that
role, I taught classes, helped to lead services, shared my music, and helped to
create a sacred community.
This year’s SLBC was filled with many Rabbi Joe Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09392641515181150108noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-313695036114939210.post-82051052829785345612024-02-15T15:46:00.003-07:002024-02-15T15:53:59.541-07:00Love Lessons for Legislators - Invocation for the Colorado State House for Valentine's DayOur God and God of all people.
We know you
by many names:
God of mercy,
God of Justice, God of Salvation, God of all Humanity
But this
morning – let us call you God of Love…..Today is
February 15th. Yesterday was Valentine’s day.
Some here
today – the more cynical among us - might think that a day set aside to focus
on love is a ploy to sell chocolate and flowers. And they may be right. Rabbi Joe Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09392641515181150108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-313695036114939210.post-61440022441266344052024-02-13T21:21:00.006-07:002024-02-14T08:02:45.435-07:00Can We Have Nuanced Conversations About Israel? I recently heard from a colleague serving a medium-sized
congregation on the West Coast that he is very afraid to talk about Israel from
the pulpit. He fears the reactions he might receive from his community. If he
is supportive of Israel’s war in Gaza, there are many who will condemn him for
supporting the “genocide” of the Palestinian people. On the other hand, if he is critical, Rabbi Joe Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09392641515181150108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-313695036114939210.post-68955785665492676182024-02-09T20:53:00.000-07:002024-02-09T20:53:18.659-07:00Differing Perspectives on the Gaza WarEach week, as we read the news, it becomes increasingly difficult to come to terms with the reality that is unfolding in Israel and Gaza. The situation of the Palestinian population becomes more dire every day. We hear reports of the destruction and devastation of huge amounts of territory controlled by Hamas. The casualty reports continue to grow. The IDF has unequivocally shown that Rabbi Joe Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09392641515181150108noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-313695036114939210.post-8643943511885233872024-01-31T16:34:00.004-07:002024-01-31T17:31:17.203-07:00Reflections on the Prayer for The State of Israel Like many synagogues around the world, praying for the
safety and health of the State of Israel has taken on new importance in the
aftermath of October 7th. While I know that many of us have
questions about the theological and philosophical efficacy of petitionary
prayer in general, the act of coming together as a community in worship and
publicly affirming our fears about and connection toRabbi Joe Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09392641515181150108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-313695036114939210.post-34892592005857482712024-01-25T16:52:00.000-07:002024-01-25T16:52:03.879-07:00Opening Prayer for the CO State House on Tu B’ShvatToday is the
Jewish holiday of Tu B’shvat – the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Shevat –
also known as the New Year of the trees.
On this day, Jews around the world give thanks for the gift of
trees. Today is the “Jewish Arbor Day,”
a day when we realize the importance of these magnificent plants that sustain
us all.
Trees grow with
their leaves spreading to the heavens – giving us Rabbi Joe Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09392641515181150108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-313695036114939210.post-36970450515327038282024-01-24T20:50:00.003-07:002024-01-24T20:58:34.511-07:00Thoughts About Israel on Tu B'ShvatDear Friends,As the war between Israel and Hamas continues to rage, it is becoming increasingly difficult to watch the news unfold around us. While the IDF continues to fight against the terrorist infrastructure – every day uncovering more details about the labyrinth of tunnels, ammunition, and the lengths to which Hamas has plundered the resources of Gaza to implement its plans to attack the Rabbi Joe Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09392641515181150108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-313695036114939210.post-18217533989476574722024-01-22T15:51:00.001-07:002024-01-22T15:51:34.814-07:00My Words From the Kickoff for the Colorado Ballot Initiative to Ensure Abortion Rights in the State Constitution Testimony by Rabbi Joseph R. Black – Temple Emanuel –
Denver, CO
Abortion
Care in the CO Constitution
January
22, 2024
I am here today in support of enshrining abortion access in
the Colorado State Constitution. I have come to speak because, in addition to strongly
supporting the right for all to have access to health care, this is also
personal. When my wife and I decided Rabbi Joe Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09392641515181150108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-313695036114939210.post-69897780462946600362023-12-11T17:51:00.005-07:002023-12-11T18:12:47.228-07:00Report From Israel - Day 4 - December 1, 2023 Dear Friends,
I am writing this post from the home of dear friends in Tel
Aviv. Our last day of the trip was
yesterday, and this is the first chance I have had to write since leaving
Jerusalem.
Before we said goodbye to Jerusalem, we had a very full day.
We began at the Hebrew Union College (HUC) where we studied
texts that focused on the concepts of “Activism and Doubt” with RabbiRabbi Joe Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09392641515181150108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-313695036114939210.post-37923630687990655542023-12-11T17:04:00.002-07:002023-12-11T17:04:20.645-07:00Report from Israel – Day 3 November 30, 2023
Our third day was a rollercoaster of emotions. We began at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish
Institute of Religion. All Reform American Rabbinic, Cantoral and Education
students spend their first ear of studies at HUC-JIR Jerusalem. I studied there in 1982. All Israeli Reform
Rabbis spend their entire time at the Jerusalem Campus. This morning, our group
was joined by Israeli Rabbi Joe Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09392641515181150108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-313695036114939210.post-14432164822837813302023-12-11T16:52:00.002-07:002023-12-11T16:52:24.073-07:00Report From Israel - Day 2 -November 28, 2023 Dear Friends,
In the Torah portion for this week, Vayishlach, Jacob wrestles
with a mysterious being before he confronts his brother Esau. Prior to this mysterious encounter we find
the following in Genesis 32;11:קָטֹ֜נְתִּי מִכֹּ֤ל הַחֲסָדִים֙ וּמִכׇּל־הָ֣אֱמֶ֔ת אֲשֶׁ֥ר
עָשִׂ֖יתָ אֶת־עַבְדֶּ֑ךָ כִּ֣י בְמַקְלִ֗י עָבַ֙רְתִּי֙ אֶת־הַיַּרְדֵּ֣ן הַזֶּ֔ה
וְעַתָּ֥ה הָיִ֖יתִי לִשְׁנֵ֥י Rabbi Joe Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09392641515181150108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-313695036114939210.post-69241640327320694082023-12-11T16:35:00.001-07:002023-12-11T16:35:31.202-07:00Report From Israel - Day One: November 27, 2023REPORT FROM ISRAEL - DAY ONE — November 27, 2023
Dear Friends,
I am participating this week on a mission in Israel
sponsored by the Union of Reform Judaism (URJ),
the American Reform Zionist Association (ARZA),
and ARZENU - the International Reform
Zionist representative to the World Zionist Organization (WZO). Our group is a delegation of Rabbis
and Reform Jewish leaders from around Rabbi Joe Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09392641515181150108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-313695036114939210.post-79168107312784924832023-10-14T10:12:00.003-06:002023-10-14T10:20:18.038-06:00Israel in Crisis: Chaos and Creation. Shabbat Bereshit Dear Friends,
Tonight’s service was supposed to be filled
with opportunities for learning and celebration. I was actually was supposed to be in New York
– where I just left our Confirmation Students – with Cantor Sacks and Tema
Cohen our Youth Director. We were having an amazing experience learning about
Jewish history and heritage while bonding together as a class – but I felt it
Rabbi Joe Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09392641515181150108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-313695036114939210.post-75435141989012724632023-09-26T11:04:00.008-06:002023-09-26T11:10:49.849-06:0050 Years after the Yom Kippur War: We are All Jonah - Kol Nidre 5784[Photo credit]My Dear
Friends,
How many
of you remember Yom Kippur of 1973?
50 years
ago, on Yom Kippur morning, October 6, 1973, when I was 14 years old, the
sanctity of our holiest day of the year was violently and irrevocably disrupted
when the armies of Syria and Egypt launched cross-border attacks through the
Sinai and the Golan Heights against the State of Israel. For the first 48 Rabbi Joe Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09392641515181150108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-313695036114939210.post-19522948207183088022023-09-17T20:24:00.001-06:002023-09-17T20:24:17.173-06:00A Letter To My Grandson: "Dear Ezzy". Rosh HaShanah Morning, 5764 - 2023
Dear Friends,Two
years ago, on Yom Kippur, I gave a sermon in anticipation of the wedding of our
daughter, Elana - to her (and our) beloved Greg. In that sermon, I shared a
letter to Elana, and I concluded that sermon with the words:
“[Elana,]
…I promise that I won’t make you the centerpiece of another public letter on
the High Holidays…for a while at least. I’ll save the next one for our
Rabbi Joe Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09392641515181150108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-313695036114939210.post-59058186356163560872023-08-03T15:18:00.004-06:002023-08-03T15:24:01.656-06:00Reflection On the Decision to Punish the Tree of Life Murderer with the Death Penalty.(The following essay was published on August 3, 2023 as an Op-Ed in the Denver Post. Here is a direct link to the article: https://www.denverpost.com/2023/08/03/tree-of-life-synagogue-death-penalty-opinion/)On the morning of Oct. 27, 2018, I was in synagogue when my
Apple watch started incessantly vibrating with multiple text messages.
Normally, during services, I turn off all myRabbi Joe Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09392641515181150108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-313695036114939210.post-48426384185375978872023-08-01T16:23:00.014-06:002023-08-02T08:28:17.841-06:00Israel In Crisis - Sermon Delivered on July 28th, 2023
My Dear Friends
Today is the 10th day of the Hebrew
month of Av. Yesterday was Tish’ah B’av – the 9th of Av – the
saddest day in the Jewish Calendar. For many
Jews, Tisha B’av is a day of fasting and mourning. It is the day upon which both the first and
second Temples in Jerusalem were destroyed.
Historically, many other tragic events took
place on or around this date: Rabbi Joe Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09392641515181150108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-313695036114939210.post-66258111974217897572023-06-30T12:32:00.004-06:002023-06-30T12:41:47.888-06:00Reflection on SCOTUS' Discriminatory Ruling in 303 Creative V. Elenis.
Dear Friends,
This morning, I participated in a press conference with Colorado
Attorney General Phil Weiser, interfaith religious leaders, and representatives
of the LGBTQ+ community in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision
in 303 Creative V. Elenis. This case, which was brought by a Colorado
Web Designer, revolved around the issue of whether the owner of a privateRabbi Joe Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09392641515181150108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-313695036114939210.post-7120524844566048332023-05-02T15:15:00.002-06:002023-05-02T15:21:59.558-06:00Reflections on an “Extraordinary” Trip to Israel- Sermon Delivered on April 28, 2023 Dear Friends,
The first time I travelled to
Israel was in 1975. I spent 6 months as an exchange student when I was in 11th
grade – learning Hebrew, attending the Leo Baeck High School in Haifa, and
travelling the length and breadth of the land.
I spent my first year of
Rabbinical School in Jerusalem. Since I was relatively fluent in Hebrew by
then, and since all students in my class had Rabbi Joe Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09392641515181150108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-313695036114939210.post-74321510435929082142023-03-29T18:08:00.000-06:002023-03-29T18:08:26.054-06:00Passover, Ramadan and Easter: Finding Hope in Dark Times - Opening Prayer for the Colorado House of RepresentativesThis is a sacred time for
many religious traditions. All over the world, Muslims are celebrating the holy
month of Ramadan. For Christians, Easter begins on April 9th. This Wednesday
night, Jews around the world will begin celebrating the festival of
Passover. On the first and second
nights, we will gather around festive tables and retell the ancient story of
our redemption at a special Rabbi Joe Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09392641515181150108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-313695036114939210.post-91909883890675810032023-03-27T12:36:00.003-06:002023-03-27T12:40:38.883-06:00Protests In Israel: Hardened Hearts and a Longing for Hope Dear Friends,Like many of you, I am watching the events unfolding in Israel with mixed emotions. On the one hand, I am frightened by the scenes of chaos erupting in the streets, the shutting down of Ben Gurion airport, schools, hospitals and major institutions of daily life. I worry about the fact that the Israel Defense Forces may be weakened by the righteous refusal of reservists to Rabbi Joe Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09392641515181150108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-313695036114939210.post-16591514297787843252023-03-23T14:26:00.003-06:002023-03-23T14:28:58.430-06:00Opening Prayer For the CO House of Representatives the Day After the Denver East High School Shooting - 3-23-23 Last night I sat in a room
filled with 35 students, members of my congregation, parents, clergy and
teachers from East High School. My colleagues and I listened as they shared
their experiences of being in lockdown – of not knowing whether they would be
safe.
We heard their tears, anger,
frustration, and grief.
We listened to the anguished
cries of parents who mourned the loss of their Rabbi Joe Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09392641515181150108noreply@blogger.com0