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Receiving Blessings from Curses
In this Yom Kippur sermon, Rabbi Tovlev gets deep and vulnerable about his past struggles with depression. He shares that this darkness has given him heightened appreciation of the light. Many of us go through our days focusing on putting one foot in front of the other, not noticing the blessings that surround us. When we pause to look around, we can see the beauty and goodness in our world and our lives. We only have one life to live, but are we truly living?
Ariel Tovlev
Oct 36 min read
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Our One Wild and Precious Life
A Kol Nidre sermon about life and death. On Yom Kippur we ask the question, "Who will live and who will die?" These questions are not merely theoretical. We only have one life to live -- what is truly important in life? When tomorrow isn't guaranteed, we have to ask ourselves today: are we living the life we want?
Ariel Tovlev
Oct 36 min read
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Kindness is Not Always Nice - Rosh Hashanah Sermon
"Before you know what kindness really is you must lose things." An exploration into kindness and situations when kindness is not nice. We must be people who resist oppression even when we go against the status quo and risk our reputations.
Ariel Tovlev
Sep 267 min read
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When Forgiveness is Not Teshuvah
On Yom Kippur, we ask for forgiveness from those we have wronged, and we grant forgiveness to those who have wronged us. We consider this...
Ariel Tovlev
Sep 15, 20218 min read
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Mussar Musings for a New Year
Shanah tovah umetukah lekulam! A good and sweet new year for everyone. When I was younger, I thought of teshuva in the traditional sense...
Ariel Tovlev
Sep 18, 20202 min read
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