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David Shanes - Men's Club Shabbat Service D'var Torah - April 16, 2010
Samantha Stegman Bat Mitzvah D'var Torah - October 24, 2009
Keith Liker's Blessing for Noah on the Occasion of Noah's Bar Mitzvah - May 2, 2009
Anita Szawielenko D'var Torah - July 24, 2009
David Shanes - Men's Club Shabbat Service D'var Torah - April 17, 2009
Carol Gendel D'Var Torah - March 2009
Marty Teal D'Var Torah Men's Club Shabbat Service - April, 2008
Phyllis Savin D'Var Torah - March, 2008
Keith Liker D'Var Torah - February, 2008
Matthew Shugart Conversion Speech - May 23, 2007
Freda Heller D'Var Torah - June 9, 2007
Natalie Diamond D'Var Torah - February 2007
Keith Liker D'Var Torah - January 2007
Karina Liker's Bat Mitzvah Speech on Mezuzot
Mary Lou Criqui's Conversion Speech
Mary Klein Conversion Speech - April 1, 2006


Keith Liker's Blessing for Noah on the Occasion of Noah's Bar Mitzvah - May 2, 2009

Dear Noah:

You are truly my favorite son, and today is a day of many things. Mostly, I think, today is a day of transformative blessings, as you emerge from this morning's service as a Bar Mitzvah. Just as our ancestors Abraham, Isaac and Jacob blessed their sons, it is now my turn to bless you, Beni Noach Azriel, Ha-Tov, on this most auspicious occasion!

I wish to impart to you what is probably The Most Important Thing a parent could ever transmit to their child, and it is this:

I want you to know, at age 13, who you truly are.


Looking back 49-years now, I wish someone would have told me this when I was your age. I might have actually listened. But this is not about regrets; Rather, it is about your true nature. The Torah tells us in the very first chapter of the Book of Beginnings, Genesis, that you are created B'Tselem Elohim - - in the Image of God. (Not bad for a start, right?) Yet, the implications of this essential spiritual truth are immense.

Noah - - you possess many wondrous abilities which are truly Divine in nature: Your mind; your will; your emotions; and your Neshamah (or "soul"). These four components of your consciousness are actually Divine in their origin. Make no mistake: You, Noah, come directly from God. Your task now as a Bar Mitzvah is to keep each of these elements of your conscious Being in balance and to use them in service to God and others wherever you may find yourself.

You were given the gift of consciousness so that you can know and love Adonai Eloheinu, the Lord our God. The meaning of your life is that you are here to know God's Greater Unity, and in so knowing, to love God with your entire conscious Being.

This is why you are here. You are not here to win wars, competitions or soccer tournaments. You are not here to amass fortunes. You are not here to earn prizes or rewards, to make yourself famous, or to glorify your own ego. You are here to know and to love God.

This is the whole Torah.

Knowing God leads naturally to loving God. Loving God leads to a genuine desire to live a holy life by putting into practice the directives of the Torah - - including your now-familiar portion, Kidoshim. Because you are here to know and to love God, you can take great comfort in the fact that you are not an accident.

Who are you, really? You are an intended, purposeful and necessary manifestation of Adonai's, infinite love, kindness, and creative power. If you live by these essential truths each day, you will make God's Presence much more visible in our troubled world. This is who you truly are, and this is your essential nature. Having this understanding now, will sustain you in difficult times which you will face.

Noah - - you have truly mastered your Torah portion, your Haftarah, and led us in praise and worship of God's Holy Name with great poise and presence on the Bimah this morning. Yet, it is not enough to just be able to read from the Torah Scroll, or to recite established prayers in the ancient language. As a Bar Mitzvah, you must now continue the journey forward and transform into a living embodiment of Torah. You must become a true representation of Adonai's ability to keep all things in balance at all moments. Adonai keeps it all in balance by always allowing Divine Compassion to trump Divine Anger. Always. As a conscious reflection of God's image, your capacity for compassion and wisdom, Noah, must also exceed your capacity for fear and anger. Always.

Your Bar Mitzvah and Hebrew school studies, then, are really a point of departure; they are a launching pad designed to send you beyond today's Torah portion, and to propel you into direct proximity with God's Eternal Presence and Infinite Lovingkindness. Let what you have already learned lead you into a Garden of Greater Holiness by pursuing holiness as your lifestyle of choice from this day forward. The choice to live a holy life will provide you with the means to draw closer to Adonai's goodness in all moments, and to be at peace with yourself and others.

One final blessing for you: Adonai will be present in each of your tomorrows, just as He was present in each of your yesterdays. The key is knowing with every neuron, every blood vessel, and every skin cell that we all exist within the Eternal Now of God's Sustaining Presence. Know it with your intellect, know it with your emotions, and live in accordance with these truths each day.

Ultimately, this is what it means to become a Bar Mitzvah - - it means that you awake to a greater awareness of the nearness of God's Love and Presence in each moment of your life. Adonai's Presence and Infinite Love are always near; Now, you get to learn to open yourself to experience them first-hand.

This is my blessing, my empowerment for you, so that you may become an even greater blessing to us all, within the Eternal Now of God's Presence.

All the rest is commentary.
Go and learn it,
But most importantly, go forward and live it.
Staring today!

Baruch Atah Adonai Eloheinu Melech Ha-Olam, Asher Natan Lanu Noach Azriel Ha-Tov!

Love, Dad