Rabbi Caruso

Lead Me Into The Mystery

Posted on September 18, 2023

This sermon, Lead me Into the Mystery, was shared by Rabbi Joshua Caruso on Rosh Hashanah Morning, September 16, 2023. Back when I was in seminary, I got an invite to a much-anticipated public reading of a new translation of the Torah by the scholar, Everett Fox. This was a big deal because Fox was Continue Reading »

Purim’s Cautionary Tale for the Modern State of Israel

Posted on March 6, 2023

Rabbi Joshua Caruso shares his March 3 sermon about Purim and our current world of increasing antisemitism: Happy Purim! It’s the time of year to enjoy sweet-filled Hamantaschen, swing the grogger, and attend the Megilla reading! It’s common for folks to dress up in costumes, be silly in the Purim Spiel, and take the kids Continue Reading »

Regrets, I’ve Had a Few…

Posted on October 6, 2022

This sermon, “Regrets, I’ve Had a Few…”, was shared by Rabbi Joshua Caruso on Yom Kippur, Oct. 5, 2022. For some of you, it is not a big secret that I went to high school with the actress Jennifer Aniston. She and I actually graduated in the same year, and we even took a class Continue Reading »

Remembering David Berger…

Posted on September 6, 2022

These reflections were shared by Rabbi Joshua Caruso during the during the Friday, Sept. 2, 2022,  Shabbat Evening Service: Remembering David Berger:     On one fateful day in 1972, Jim McKay, ABC’s Olympic broadcasting anchor, shared the impossible news just after 3 am in the morning: I’ve just gotten the final word. When I Continue Reading »

Prayers are Personal to Each of Us

Posted on August 16, 2022

This post on Anshe Chesed Fairmount Temple’s interactive blog was shared by Rabbi Joshua Caruso during the Aug. 12 Shabbat Evening Service:     The very first words of this week’s Torah portion emanate from Moses, who says, “V’etchanan El Adonai…” meaning, “I pleaded with God.”  Moses’ appeal to the Holy One is understandable, given Continue Reading »

Living Out Loud As Jews

Posted on September 20, 2021

This post on If Not Now, When?, the interactive blog of Anshe Chesed Fairmount Temple, is the sermon shared by Rabbi Joshua Caruso on Yom Kippur, 2021. A dispatch from the old country: The USSR suffered chronic shortages of consumer goods. Early one morning a rumor circulated in Moscow that a store was to receive a shipment of Continue Reading »

Give Me Yavneh

Posted on September 8, 2021

This post on If Not Now, When?, the interactive blog of Anshe Chesed Fairmount Temple, is the sermon shared by Rabbi Joshua Caruso on Rosh Hashanah, 2021. Give Me Yavneh Old Rabbi Cohen retires to a nursing home, and a new young rabbi is employed by the community. On her first Shabbat in her new post, they Continue Reading »

Preparing our Hearts and Souls for the Coming High Holy Days while Thinking about the People in our Lives Where We “Dwell”

Posted on September 2, 2021

This post on If Not Now, When?, the interactive blog of Anshe Chesed Fairmount Temple, is shared by Rabbi Joshua Caruso as we approach the High Holy Days. Each year, during the month of Elul, we revisit Psalm 27, a reminder of the tenuous of life, vulnerability, and our reach towards holiness. The most memorable verse of Continue Reading »

Everything is in the Sauce

Posted on April 12, 2021

This post on If Not Now, When?, the interactive blog of Anshe Chesed Fairmount Temple, is the sermon shared by Rabbi Joshua Caruso Passover Yizkor Memorial Service, 2021.  Coming from an Italian family, everything was about the sauce. I remember going from the train station on Spring Street to Lafayette Street, making my way up the stairs Continue Reading »

Witness

Posted on September 21, 2020

This post on If Not Now, When?, the interactive blog of Anshe Chesed Fairmount Temple, is the sermon shared by Rabbi Joshua Caruso on Erev Rosh Hashanah, 2020.     At break of day, the angels pushed Lot to get going, “Hurry. Get your wife and two daughters out of here before it’s too late and you’re caught Continue Reading »