Shmini Atzeret (Yizkor) 5772 It always seems strange to me that we say Yizkor on the three pilgrimage festivals. Historically, it hasn’t always been this way. Yizkor originated in the middle ages to commemorate those who were slaughtered by marauding bands during the Crusades. Back then it was recited only on Yom Kippur; but, eventually, [...]
Shabbat Hol Ha-Mo’ed Sukkot 5772 Have you ever had to explain sukkot to a non-Jewish friend or co-worker? It’s not easy… sukkot is probably our strangest holiday. The symbols and practices of sukkot must seem really weird to an outsider. You sit in a hut for a week and shake some leaves and a bumpy [...]
Building a Sukkah reminds us that community is something we make (and re-make). Shabbat / 1st Day Yom Tov Sukkot 5770 What is the oldest building in human history that is still standing intact today? Is it the Greek Parthenon? Is it the Roman Coliseum? The Great Pyramid of Giza? Machu Picchu? The great civilizations [...]
Shabbat Chol Ha-Moed Sukkot 5769 – October 18, 2008 Life is Like a Sukkah The wisdom of our tradition is to recognize and elevate the journey and not the arrival. Sukkot always comes too fast. When Yom Kippur ends, I always lull myself into a false sense of relief thinking that I have time to [...]
Rabbi Salomon Gruenwald has served as the Associate Rabbi of Congregation HEA in Denver, CO since his ordination from the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies in Los Angeles in 2008. He also serves as a volunteer chaplain with the Denver Police Department. He and his spouse, Melanie Gruenwald, have three children.
