Submitted by The Valley Temple Rabbi Sandford Kopnick met Rabbi Solomon Greenberg when Kopnick was as a camper at Goldman Union Camp. Over 20 years later, Rabbi Kopnick would succeed Rabbi Greenberg as the rabbi of the Valley Temple. Rabbi Austin Zoot joined Rabbi Kopnick at Valley in 2019, and stayed after ordination in 2020. […]
When Jerry Springer died last week, Jews all over the world were reading a section of the Torah that included Leviticus 19, the holiness code. And, should one consider The Jerry Springer Show as it was for most of its run, linking Jerry Springer to the idea of holiness would not make sense to most for not even he thought his show was a significant contribution to the betterment of the world. But, as all who gather here today to mourn the loss of this genuine, honest, authentic, intelligent, devoted, loving, generous, brilliant funny and kind man, there was so much to Gerald Springer.
The idea that suffering is divine punishment doesn't ring true anymore, but focusing on the pain of another allows for a profound take on the problem of evil