Rabbi Richard D. Agler, DD

Shalom and thanks for visiting!

Here are some NEW offerings:

Speaking notes from our 26th annual joint service with the members of Boca Raton’s oldest African-American Church, Ebenezer Missionary Baptist. It took place on Martin Luther King weekend and you can click on the link here.

In addition, we held a service of Recovery and Rededication for those in 12 Step Programs at CBI recently and I had a few words to offer.  Click on them here.

Also some thoughts and reflections on the Haitian Earthquake on the RDA Blog.

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Also posted is “Highlights of the Jewish Decade” an end of the year–and end of the decade–review of what we’ve experienced in the last ten years.

What does the number “168″ mean to you?  The RDA Blog entry here explains why it should mean a lot.

You can click here for a short article on Muslim-Jewish relations that I wrote for our December synagogue newsletter.  It was written before the tragedy at Ft. Hood–which may have made it even more important. Hope you appreciate—

We are online but not fully launched in this heading.  You can find additional notes of my recent talks, writings and sermons at this link.

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These are the days in the Jewish world when the Exodus narrative is read from the Torah.  There is a great deal of scholarly debate over its historicity.  But be that as it may, its humanitarian messages of justice and liberation, as well the effect that those messages have had on history, cannot be disputed.

Exodus is the first classic source to teach that G-d is on the side of the oppressed, not the oppressor.  It holds that the human rights of the people take precedence over the ruling privileges of the king. It has inspired the belief that every human being, no matter how low his or her social status, is entitled to be free to serve the Highest–as a matter of Divine Right.

At the same time Exodus points out the shortcomings inherent in all earthly kings.  The Pharaoh possesses a vastly over-inflated sense of self, not to mention a serious case of arrogance and paranoia.  Not coincidentally, he was also guilty of genocide—the mass slaughter of the Hebrew male children.  We have seen such qualities in other rulers throughout the ages, most of them meeting an inglorious end. We can readily see why Exodus has been held as a banner by oppressed people throughout the ages.  And why at the same time, it has been considered subversive by many rulers.

Exodus also introduces the name of G-d, “Ehyeh asher Ehyeh,”  usually translated as “I will be what I will be” or “I am what I am.”  It is a challenging concept because it posits that G-d is best understood as a verb, continually ongoing, rather than the more familiar idea of G-d as a simpler noun.

We meet the Prophet Moses near the beginning of Exodus, and he is central to most of the rest of the Torah. Rarely is he more praiseworthy than he is here however, intervening on the side of peace when there are struggles between an Egyptian and a Hebrew, two Hebrews, and later on, two Midianites.  To Moses, justice was justice and peace was peace, regardless of the nationality of the people in question.

Finally, Exodus lays down an immutable Biblical principle:  come what may, G-d gets the final word. Ultimately, all of our lives are accountable before the Highest.

Any one of these principles can redirect a life.  Taken together, they have guided history–for good–for millennia.  I invite you to reacquaint yourself with the Book of Exodus this season.

Best wishes and shalom to all.

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