David Baum, at The Blogs

Mar 13, 2025, 9:14 PM

Not Rushing to Judgment: Lessons from Jewish Wisdom

As Jews, we always want to be on the right side, on the side of the victim, not the oppressor. I say this because of the recent controversy regarding Mahmoud Khalil, one of the main organizers of the Columbia...

Mar 5, 2025, 6:27 AM

At My Bar Mitzvah – And Theirs

At my bar mitzvah, my mother of blessed memory, Rachel Baum, asked that I read a poem from the bimah before Mourner’s Kaddish. The poem, "At My Bar Mitzvah and His," was written by Rabbi Howard Kahn and published...

Aug 7, 2024, 9:34 PM

Ethics of joy: Celebrating the death of evil people

Do you remember where you were when you heard Osama Bin Laden was killed by Seal Team 6? Honestly, I do not remember, but I remember how I felt: a mixture of elation, sadness remembering the victims of 9/11,...

Oct 14, 2021, 6:29 AM

The Power of the Tower: How Facebook Became Our New Tower of Babel

The direction of humanity changed forever on a day that few of us realize. On July 16, 1945, a team of scientists and engineers watched the first successful atomic bomb explosion at the Trinity test site in Alamogordo, New Mexico. The team, dubbed “The Manhattan...

Nov 12, 2020, 2:01 AM

The Veterans of Fitzgerald-Where America Re-United

When you think about the great cities of the South, the sites to see, perhaps the last place you would think of is the little town of Fitzgerald, Georgia. I served as a student rabbi at the Fitzgerald Hebrew...

Nov 3, 2020, 6:35 PM

Do We Need a Separation? Not According to Abraham

Do Americans, and Jewish-Americans, Need A Separation? Not According to Abraham© A Pre-and Post 2020 Election Sermon Lech Lecha 2020/5781 Our two sons both love each other and fight each other with a deep passion. One afternoon during the summer, they...

Oct 9, 2020, 2:02 AM

The Challenge of Being Joyful – Sukkot in 2020

A picture of our Congregation's Sukkah this year. Due to Covid-19, we put up the bare minimum required for walls in order to maximize airflow. We had restrictions on the number of people who could be in the Sukkah at one time, and social distancing and Covid protocols were followed. (Courtesy of David Baum).

This week, during Hol HaMoed Sukkot, I officiated at the funeral for my uncle (z’l). When speaking with my uncle’s family, I had to inform them of the Jewish practice of not sitting shiva during Sukkot. When someone passes on the...

Sep 26, 2020, 9:40 AM

Transformation and Prophecy: Holy Lessons from RBG

Shabbat Shuvah 5781/2020 It’s hard for us to know when we are in a big moment. We remember where we were when JFK was assassinated, we remember where we were at 9 am on 9/11/2001. But most of the time,...

Nov 27, 2019, 1:48 AM

A Jewish Survival Guide For Your Thanksgiving Meal

Guess Who’s Coming to Thanksgiving Dinner? It is 2019, will this Thanksgiving be different than other Thanksgivings? What will you talk about, as you welcome in your uncle comes to the table with his red Make America Great Again hat,...

Nov 1, 2019, 1:06 AM

The Give and Take of Halloween and Judaism

We do something called a Q & A with our religious school -- Question Box -- Questions that Siri and Alexa cannot answer. Most of the time, the kids ask questions, but sometimes, the parents slip one in. I wanted...

About Me

David Baum serves as rabbi of Congregation Shaarei Kodesh, a small (but mighty) Conservative Kehillah (community) in Boca Raton, Florida, sits on the Rabbinical Assembly Social Justice Commission, former president of the Southeast Region of the Rabbinical Assembly and Palm Beach County Board of Rabbis.

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