Rabbi David Baum

Dvar Torah for Shaarei Kodesh's Annual Meeting - Wednesday, January 28, 2026 Before you read on, please watch the video above. It’s only three minutes, and I promise you, it will not disappoint! As you saw, one person starts dancing alone in a field. He looks awkward and unpolished. He’s just out there, exposed, and no one is quite sure what he’s doing or why. Then something subtle happens. One other person joins him. And then another. And then suddenly, a movement forms. Wha

Parashat Vayigash 2025 - Rabbi David Baum Have you ever had a second chance in life? I don’t mean a small one. Not a “we’ll try again tomorrow” moment.I mean the kind of second chance where you knew—deep down—that you didn’t really deserve it… and yet it was given to you anyway. And on the other side of that question: Have you ever been the one who gave someone else that second chance? Not because they had earned it. Not because it was easy. But because something in your hear

Can your heart break from across the world? I think we all know the answer to that question after the first night of Hanukkah as we heard about the horrific terrorist attack against the Jewish community of Australia on Sunday at Bondi Beach. I have a personal connection to the Jewish community of Australia. My grandfather Frank, of blessed memory, had a brother and sister who survived the Holocaust along with him. Whereas Frank went to America to build a family, his brother a

5th Year Rabbinical Student at the Jewish Theological Seminary, David Baum's Senior Sermon. Delivered on November 22, 2008, at the Women's League Seminary Synagogue. The parashah that week was Toldot. I welcome everyone here, family and friends who have come from near and far, and those watching at home (on videotape). In particular, I welcome our guests from Auburn Theological Seminary to our Synagogue. All of you have been my teachers, and it is an honor to repay you by ser

Rabbi David Baum Delivered on Parashat Noah, 2025/5786 Before we begin our Torah reading this morning, I wanted to share a story of this Torah cover that's in back of us right here, and the mitzvah that Audrey, the mother of our bar mitzvah boy, performed to turn it into a beautiful memorial to October 7th, 2023, and the two years that followed. Because it was here during Simchat Torah when we learned about the massacre. And after that day, we started wearing yellow ribbons;

Learning to practice joy during Sukkot 2025-5786, when our hearts are still in mourning but hope is on the horizon Imagine a time when you were happy, but had to feel sad, or a time when you were sad, but expected to feel happy. They are rare instances, but they happen from time to time in our lives. Judaism asks us to live in that tension all the time. We’re commanded to mourn when our hearts are full, and to rejoice when our hearts are breaking. For instance, it is one of t

Yom Kippur - 2025/5786 - Rabbi David Baum The day after I got back to shul after my summer vacation, I had a meeting set for 9:00 am...

Rabbi David Baum, Kol Nidre 2025/5785  In 2005, I was serving as a rabbinic intern in Norwalk, Connecticut, a small New England town with...

Rosh Hashanah Evening Day 1 - 5786 - 2025 Rabbi David Baum Photo By Annie Spratt from Unsplash Elul, the month leading up to Rosh...

First Day of Rosh Hashanah 2025 - 5786 Rabbi David Baum I’m sure many in this room have seen a war movie, but have you ever felt war?...

Parashat Nizavim 2025/5785 - Rabbi David Baum I was interested in watching Hacks — I’d heard good things. But after the Emmys on Sunday...

Photo by Redd Francisco  on Unsplash Help Us Remember© By Rabbi David Baum  Preamble: I Wish I Could Remember 9/12 By Kathryn Bosley "I...

Parashat Shoftim 2025/5785 Does anyone here like zombie shows? I’ll admit, when they first became popular, I thought it was just a fad. A...

Parashat Devarim and Tisha B’Av Three weeks can feel short, but a lot can happen in that time. Think about the three weeks between the...

Parashat Korach 2025/5785 Rabbi David Baum, Congregation Shaarei Kodesh Let’s say you experience a miracle. Do you think you would...

Parashat Shelach Lecha 2025/5785 Rabbi David Baum, Congregation Shaarei Kodesh In 2002, while I was studying in Jerusalem after my...

🎙️ Torah From Boca — Episode Title: “Fear Builds Encampments. Love Builds Community; Our Choice Encampment or Community?” I originally...

Yizkor Sermon - Shavuot 2025/5785 I was asked a very important question by a rabbinical student when I led the Flesh Family Sinai Temple...

Parashat BaMidbar 5785/2025 Anyone who took an American history class knows the story of the American flag, created by Betsy Ross, but...

Rabbi Baum's Annual Meeting Address - June 4, 2025 There are some places in the world that are just different from others. For example,...