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Biblical Foundations: Noah, Redemption, and Literary Genres Preacher: Rabbi Dr. Joshua Brumbach Date of Sermon: October 17, 2026 Noah’s ark and Moses’ basket share one Hebrew word, used only twice in the Tanakh. That’s no accident. Most of us read the Bible as a single book, but it’s really a library: many authors, many genres, and a span of over a thousand years. The Jewish Tanakh and the Christian Old Testament contain the same books in a different order, and that changes the story each one tells. So what is the Bible, and how should we read it? In this Torah portion on Noah, Rabbi Brumbach follows the word tava from the flood to Moses, both of whom emerge as redeeming figures. He then steps back to explore the literary genres of Scripture, the Tanakh and Septuagint orders, and why the word of God still requires interpretation. For more information visit www.simchatyisrael.org

Mountain Top Experiences  Dorothy Gitelman  August 15, 2026 As we enter Elul, we're using this season of preparation to catch up on messages from the past few months, works we don't want anyone to miss before the High Holidays. What does it really take to meet God on the mountain? Moses climbed a mountain to meet God, and so did Abraham and the disciples. It wasn't quick and it wasn't easy. Dorothy shares what her summer trip through the Alps taught her about mountaintop moments in Scripture, and what it looks like to prepare our hearts as we enter Elul. For more information visit www.simchatyisrael.org

Liturgical Contexts and the Outpouring of the Spirit  Rabbi Dr. Joshua Brumbach  August 8, 2026 As we enter Elul, we're using this season of preparation to catch up on messages from the past few months, works we don't want anyone to miss before the High Holidays. Can the Holy Spirit really move in the middle of set liturgy, or only when things are unscripted? Rabbi Joshua takes on the idea that liturgy is dull and the Spirit only shows up in spontaneous worship. He walks through Solomon's temple dedication, Acts chapter 2, and Numbers 11 to show the Spirit moving right in the middle of structured, liturgical worship, and makes the case that what matters isn't the form of worship but the state of our hearts. For more information visit www.simchatyisrael.org

God's Spirit and His Kingdom  Rabbi Dr. Joshua Brumbach  August 1, 2026 As we enter Elul, we're using this season of preparation to catch up on messages from the past few months, works we don't want anyone to miss before the High Holidays. Did you know the Holy Spirit shows up all over the Tanakh, long before Acts chapter 2? Rabbi Joshua walks through example after example, from creation to Bezalel to Gideon to Ezekiel's dry bones, to show the spirit at work well before the New Testament. He then looks at what it means to be filled with the spirit today, and unpacks the difference between the fruit of the spirit and the gifts of the spirit and why both matter for the community. For more information visit www.simchatyisrael.org

The Whole Point of Devarim  Tom Esposito  July 18, 2026 As we enter Elul, we're using this season of preparation to catch up on messages from the past few months, works we don't want anyone to miss before the High Holidays. Are we so busy watching the wolf that we're missing the real story? Tom uses the three little pigs to make a point about Devarim: it's easy to get distracted by the danger in a story and miss what's actually being said underneath it. He walks through why God chose Israel, what it means that we've entered a renewed covenant through Yeshua, and the purpose we've been given to show God's character to the world. For more information visit www.simchatyisrael.org

40th Anniversary Celebration  Stewart Weinisch  July 11, 2026 As we enter Elul, we're using this season of preparation to catch up on messages from the past few months, works we don't want anyone to miss before the High Holidays. What does it actually look like to follow God fully for 45 years straight? This week is Simchat Yisrael's 40th anniversary celebration, and we welcomed back guest speaker Stewart Weinisch, the congregation's first leader, to bring the word. He takes us through the story of Caleb, the spy who trusted God's promise about the land and then waited decades to see it happen, and what it means to follow the Lord fully and be led by the spirit. For more information visit www.simchatyisrael.org

Liturgy as Devotional Prayer Dorothy Gitelman June 27, 2026 As we enter Elul, we're using this season of preparation to catch up on messages from the past few months, works we don't want anyone to miss before the High Holidays.  What do you actually mean when you say the words of a prayer you've said a hundred times? Dorothy walks us through why we all walk into shul carrying different backgrounds, habits, and default reactions, and how that shapes the way we pray together. Using the Sim Shalom blessing as a case study, she digs into what peace really means in the text and how putting our own hearts into the fixed words of the siddur can turn recitation into real devotion. For more information visit www.simchatyisrael.org

A Future and a Hope Rabbi Stewart Winograd June 13, 2026 As we enter Elul, we're using this season of preparation to catch up on messages from the past few months, works we don't want anyone to miss before the High Holidays.  How do you find hope in the middle of Israel's darkest days? This week we welcomed guest speaker Rabbi Stewart Winograd of Reach Initiative International, who shared firsthand stories from the ground in Israel since October 7th. He talked about the relief, restoration, and redemption work his team does with survivors, grieving families, and Holocaust survivors, and challenged us to live out that same sacrificial, compassionate love right where we are. For more information visit www.simchatyisrael.org

Continuing On in Memory of Rabbi Tony Rabbi Dr. Joshua Brumbach June 6, 2026 As we enter Elul, we're using this season of preparation to catch up on messages from the past few months, works we don't want anyone to miss before the High Holidays. How do you keep going after losing someone like Rabbi Tony? This week Rabbi Brumbach reflects on the month since Rabbi Tony's passing, drawing on the Torah's account of the Israelites mourning Moses for 30 days and then having to keep moving forward. He talks honestly about grief, why Judaism makes room for it, and what it means for the congregation to carry Rabbi Tony's legacy into Simchat Yisrael's 40th anniversary year. For more information visit www.simchatyisrael.org

Recalibrating Your Spiritual Compass Rabbi Dr. Joshua Brumbach September 5, 2026 As we enter Elul, we're using this season of preparation to catch up on messages from the past few months, works we don't want anyone to miss before the High Holidays. Do your choices actually match what you say you value? This week's message looks at Moses's final words to the whole Jewish people, every generation included, and asks us to line up our daily choices with the values we claim to hold. With Rosh Hashanah just a week out, Rabbi Brumbach walks through what real repentance looks like versus "cheap grace," and why the small, daily choice to draw near to God is what this season is really about. For more information visit www.simchatyisrael.org

Samson, Desire, and the Derailments of Life  Rabbi Dr. Joshua Brumbach  May 30, 2026 As we enter Elul, we're using this season of preparation to catch up on messages from the past few months, works we don't want anyone to miss before the High Holidays.  How does someone with so much promise end up so derailed? This week Rabbi Brumbach walks through the wild story of Samson, a guy given incredible strength who spent most of his life spoiled, chasing whatever he wanted, and answering to no one. He points out how that pattern of getting used to always getting your way can quietly become arrogance, and finds hope in the one humble prayer Samson finally prays at the very end. For more information visit www.simchatyisrael.org

Shavuot (2nd Day): An Opportunity for Spiritual Renewal Rabbi Dr. Joshua Brumbach May 23, 2026 As we enter Elul, we're using this season of preparation to catch up on messages from the past few months, works we don't want anyone to miss before the High Holidays.  Sinai, Numbers 11, Acts 2, same Spirit, same promise. This week Rabbi Brumbach traces the outpouring of the Spirit from Mount Sinai through Numbers 11 to Acts 2, showing how Shavuot ties them all together as one continuous promise. He walks through what the renewed covenant in Jeremiah 31 really means, and makes the case that the Spirit isn't just given for our own comfort, it's given to send us out to do the work of the kingdom. For more information visit www.simchatyisrael.org

Numbers, Shavuot, and the Purpose of Community Rabbi Dr. Joshua Brumbach May 16, 2026 As we enter Elul, we're using this season of preparation to catch up on messages from the past few months, works we don't want anyone to miss before the High Holidays.  What holds a community together when everyone has their own idea of what matters? This week Rabbi Brumbach opens the book of Numbers and shows how the census was really about dignity, every person counted equally and none left out. He connects that to Shavuot and the early believers in Acts 2, who stayed devoted to teaching, fellowship, breaking bread, and prayer with a real singleness of purpose, and asks what our own community's purpose should be. For more information visit www.simchatyisrael.org

Remembering Rabbi Tony Eaton Rabbi Dr. Joshua Brumbach May 9, 2026 As we enter Elul, we're using this season of preparation to catch up on messages from the past few months, works we don't want anyone to miss before the High Holidays.  This week, we mourn Rabbi Tony Eaton, a righteous man and a friend. This week Rabbi Brumbach set aside the usual teaching to remember Rabbi Tony Eaton, who passed away just days before. He shares personal memories of their friendship, what Rabbi Tony meant to him through hard seasons of his own life, and how the heroes of faith shaped how he's thinking about Rabbi Tony's legacy now. For more information visit www.simchatyisrael.org

Emor: Intimacy and Serving as a Priestly Remnant Rabbi Dr. Joshua Brumbach May 2, 2026 As we enter Elul, we're using this season of preparation to catch up on messages from the past few months, works we don't want anyone to miss before the High Holidays. What if holiness isn't about distance from people, but closeness to God? This week Rabbi Brumbach digs into the Hebrew behind "they shall be holy" and finds something surprising: the priests weren't set apart to stand back, they were set apart to draw near. He traces that idea of closeness through the word for sacrifice, the Akedah, and into what it means for all of us today, as a "royal priesthood," to actually live out our faith instead of just talking about it. For more information visit www. simchatyisrael.org