Rabbi David Baum

My Remarks from our event with Vince Pankoke: Today, we mark the beginning of the Yoms, three holidays that were created after the Holocaust - Yom Hashoah U’Gevurah, Holocaust Remembrance and Heroism Day, Yom HaZikaron, Israeli Memorial Day, and Yom Ha’atzmaut. Focusing on today’s holiday, I wanted to offer a little history to the day. The push for a dedicated Holocaust Memorial Day began almost immediately after the war. Survivors, Zionist leaders, and members of the nascent

A Note Before You Read — April 14, 2026 This is a repost of a blog entry I wrote in April 2013, over a decade ago, when I attended the brit milah of my nephew on Yom HaShoah U'Gevurah. When I first wrote these words in April 2013, I could not have imagined all that the years would carry with them. Since then, my mother has passed away, as has my grandfather Frank, two of the people who were present that day, whose faces I can still see when I close my eyes. On a day like tod

Who in here knows the name of the largest synagogue in the country? Don’t yell it out, just raise your hand. To prepare for this sermon, I asked Rabbi Google, not his chevrutah, Rabbi ChatGPT: What is the largest synagogue in the United States of America? The answer: Temple Emanuel. Located on Fifth Avenue in the heart of New York City, Temple Emanu-El is considered one of the most beautiful and largest synagogues in the world. The sanctuary alone seats about 2,500 worshipp