This week at Congregation Beth Tikvah we’ll celebrate the sabbath with a Last Blast of Summer Ice Cream Sundae Oneg Shabbat on Friday evening. Then, Saturday morning, we’ll announce the new month of Elul. Monday morning we’ll sound the shofar on Rosh Hodesh Elul. The following Monday is Labor Day; just three weeks before Rosh Hashanah, … Read more
Please forgive me. It appears my absence from social media left some of you wondering where I am. I’m in New Jersey, serving as the rabbi of Congregation Beth Tikvah (CBT) in Marlton. I’ve just started my fifth month of what I hope will be five years of dedicated service in the House of Hope. … Read more
I’m pleased to share two of my sermons from the High Holidays: The sermon I delivered on the first day of Rosh Hashanah, “Happy Families Forgive,” was posted on The Wisdom Daily website in their High Holiday sermon series, featuring sermons by alumni of Clal’s clergy training programs. My Yom Kippur morning sermon, “Don’t Detach … Read more
On this Juneteenth, I share with you a d’var torah that I shared with Congregation Beth Tikvah in Marlton, NJ three months ago. I was interviewing for the position of rabbi there on Shabbat Zakhor, the sabbath when we read a portion from the Torah instructing us to remember how the Amalekites attacked the Israelites … Read more
To learn more about the sculpture Exode and the artist Sandrine Plante, check out this video on YouTube (select CC subtitles & select French to English).
As we prepared for Shabbat at Temple Kol Emeth on Friday morning, our Director of Member Engagement, Cindy Livingston, polished up my monthly reflection with a beautiful banner and a new-and-improved title: Reflections from Rabbi Gottfried: The Power of Rereading I never used to reread books. And I didn’t understand why some people advocated for … Read more
Visiting friends in Philadelphia last month, I had occasion to drive across the Delaware River and was reminded of a relaxing afternoon I spent in an inner tube in this river nearly two years ago. I wrote about the experience in my 5782 Rosh Hashanah Message in the Atlanta Jewish Times: “Riding the gentle rapids … Read more
Essay originally appeared at thisibelieve.org (2008) I believe in the soul of the underdog. The one who has to struggle for the victory, who learns that the challenges she overcomes to achieve it make it all the sweeter. I believe in this soul’s journey because it has been my journey. My earliest Jewish memory … Read more
My Remarks (more or less) at the Georgia State Capitol on February 22, 2023 – Rosh Hodesh Adar 5783: I have stood here before, with colleagues and friends; it is a privilege to stand here again and teach a central principle of my faith, a core Jewish value, rooted in the Hebrew Bible and known … Read more
“The only really interesting questions are the unanswerable ones.” —Jacob Needleman I’m not sure why I’ve been vexed lately by the question of why human beings seem so invested in deciding who is in our group and who is the “other.” Maybe it’s the seemingly endless rounds of voting to choose the Speaker of the … Read more