The City Congregation holds a tradition of members giving talks, often personal and touching, during Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services. Here we share these talks by members who have given us permissions to post their talks.
Crisis lines and resources: If your life or someone else’s is in imminent danger, call 911. If you are in crisis and need immediate help, or if you need to…
Ruth Bader Ginsburg Isabel Kaplan Rosh Hashana 2020 When I was asked last night to prepare some thoughts about the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg I immediately concluded that I…
Idenitities Lina M. Yom Kippur 2019 All people embody multiple identities. Our identifiers describe our relationships, the way we relate to the people and places around us. Among many…
Outside and Inside Ernie Rubinstein Rosh Hashanah, September 30, 2019 On Feb. 10, 2008, at the age of 56, I learned something new about myself. I learned I had a…
Facing the Unexpected Alyson Silverman-Caruso Yom Kippur 2018 Hi, I’m Alyson Silverman-Caruso. My family has been a member of City Congregation for three years, I have two sons in…
On Transition Sandy Farber Rosh Hashana 2018 L’shanah tovah. My name is Sandy Farber, and I’m a long-time member of the congregation, having joined in the 1990s. One of…
Self-Reflection Essay Matt Rand (Originally given on the occasion of his conversion, February 15, 2017) Ten years ago if someone had told me I’d become Jewish, I definitely wouldn’t…
Forgiveness Laura Finfer Families are complicated. Mine is especially so. My mom passed away in May; she had borderline personality disorder. It is a condition that made her moods unstable,…
Trauma Transformed Mike Otterman Yom Kippur 2016 I struggled with this essay more than I thought I would. I understood the brief that Rabbi Peter gave me — or…
Jewish Identity and Individuality Amy Goldin Thank you Rabbi Peter for thinking I had something to say on the matter of individuality. After all who am I? A humanistic Jew…
DESPAIR Jennifer Naparstek Klein, Psy.D. When I heard last year that Robin Williams had taken his life, and in such a desperate seeming way—with a dress belt to his…
Final Arrangements Judith Schoolman This I Believe, 2013, and Yom Kippur 2014 I believe people should make arrangements for their “final rest” before they die and not leave everything…
Legacy of My Parents Shirley Ranz As some of you, who have been in The City Congregation for many years, know, both my parents are Holocaust survivors. My father…
The Possibility of Change Gladys Foxe, L.C.S.W.. L.P., Ph.D. (Originally delivered, in a longer version, as “How I got my politics”, for Shabbat May 2013) Thank you Peter, and…
LEGACY Alice Kaplan Many years ago, I was given a handout. It must have been at a workshop I was attending but now, my memory fails me and I…
Integrity Dahlia K. Remler Rosh Hashanah 2012 Early in graduate school, I made an appointment to meet a fellow student in our departmental library at its closing time,…
Only Connect Trudy Elins As always, I started by doing some research on the topic. Rabbi Peter is not the only one who can Google “Purpose of Life.” But I…
Yom Kippur 2010 Forgive Me, Mother Carol Sternhell On Mother’s Day the nursing home—my mother’s prison—is abloom. Every resident—at least every one with relatives willing to sign a check—gets…
Yom Kippur 2010 Forgiveness by Dan Wyman “Danny, are you a Nazi?!!!” This was my grandmother Edith’s response to me when, at age 10 on a visit to…
Life’s Challenges Devera Witkin Yom Kippur 2009 I am so honored to be a speaker today, alongside my friend Hy Gold. Hy is a real mensch and such a kind,…
