D'Rasha (Download PDF)

I am Elke Martin, president of Bet Mishpachah, and I want to welcome you to this year's High Holy Days! Whether you are one of the founding members, someone who comes to many of our services and classes throughout the year, or whether this is your first visit to Bet Mishpachah, I am so glad you are here! This is not just another year in the history of Bet Mishpachah, you know, this is our 36th year ╨ double chai.  How did we get here? -- Elke Martin

Shabbat Shuva D'Rasha (Download PDF)

Throughout the month of Elul and the High Holy Days of Tishreh, each of us in toward the New Year. This path is comprised of three basic actions:  Reflect.  Repent.  Return….Easy, no?  --Stuart Sotsky


D'Rasha (Download PDF)

The focus of much of the High Holy Day experience is not particularly complex.  It is quite accessible to one who may be unprepared or  uninterested in any theological discussion: sin less and accomplish more.  Simply put, we need to be better people.  So we engage in a process of self-examination and reflection.  The liturgy tells us that we must engage in   We can all understand the steps we should take to start on the road to self-improvement. -- penitence, prayer, and charity. Marc A. Bernstein


D'Rasha (Download PDF)

On Yom Kippur you may hear the story of an old man in DuPont Circle.  Today I would like to tell you a different story about a short visit I had not very long ago with a woman who may have been homeless.  I met her in Lafayette Park one evening as I was walking from the White House.  I used to occasionally wander over to the White House to see which organizations were demonstrating or which soapbox orators were lecturing about the merits of their respective causes.  Now with the barricades in place, the demonstrators and orators have been forced to other locations-- frequently Lafayette Park.   On this particular evening, an ageless woman appeared out of nowhere and she began to engage me in
conversation.-- Eva Freund


D'rasha (Download PDF)
One of the hardest decisions a novelist or playwright has to make is where to begin a narrative or a play. The same thing applies to anyone who has the distinction of addressing a congregation on the High Holy Days. Whenever I begin to think of a possible theme or topic my thoughts often go way back to lessons that I was taught by my mother. -- Al Munzer