Rabbi Joseph B. Meszler

Rabbi Joseph B. Meszler is the spiritual leader of Temple Sinai in Sharon, MA.

View from behind of a person blowing a shofar into the sunset while wearing a prayer shawl that covers their head and back
Torah Study

Unetaneh Tokef in the Time of a Pandemic

Rabbi Joseph B. Meszler
The Unetaneh Tokef has a long list of ways that people die, often violently, a way of shocking us into realizing our mortality. The original prayer, however, can be traumatizing. This version seeks a more empathetic approach to mortality.
bright heaven above clouds

Do Reform Jews Believe in the Messiah?

Rabbi Joseph B. Meszler
In the Jewish prayer book, the siddur, there are references to an “end of days”: the Temple in Jerusalem will be rebuilt, the dead who were righteous will be resurrected, and a figure known as the Messiah, or in Hebrew the Moshiach, will restore Israel to new-found glory. The word