Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch of Stephen Wise Free Synagogue

Jews have often wondered how the Holocaust was even possible. “October 7 is how it happens. A nuclear-armed Iran is how it happens,” said Rabbi Ammi Hirsch, commenting on Israel's […]

In the aftermath of the murders in Washington, D.C., and the firebombing of peaceful, mostly elderly Jews in Boulder, Colorado, Rabbi Ammi Hirsch asks: “How do we stay strong?” Looking […]

Rabbi Ammi Hirsch honors the memory of Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, who were gunned down in “the springtime of their lives” at a Jewish event outside a Jewish museum. […]

In these hyper-tense times, Rabbi Hirsch worries we've become “so overwhelmed with the fury of our relentless politics as to leave little time or space for Jewish reflection.” And while […]

Rabbi Ammi Hirsch has been hearing from many American Jews who are “deeply concerned — not only about many specific polices and executive actions, but about the very soul of […]

Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch discusses the magnificent clothing of the priests described in this week's Torah portion. “Why all this elaborate fashion?” he asks. “For beauty and glory… to honor the […]

This week was a turning point for Rabbi Ammi Hirsch. “What the Bibas family symbolizes — the concretization and normalization of pure evil in the face of pure innocence — […]

Two weeks into Donald Trump's second term, Rabbi Ammi Hirsch reminds us that our religious and moral values must guide us as we pursue national policies — and that our […]

Having just returned from Israel, Rabbi Ammi Hirsch shares his own feelings upon witnessing the first Israeli hostages being released and explains: “The entire country broke down in tears… secular […]

“After 16 months of physical and emotional torture, 33 Israeli hostages will be coming home,” says Rabbi Ammi Hirsch, expressing his deep gratitude for their return. “The need now is […]

Recounting the story of our people's unlikely endurance, Rabbi Ammi Hirsch reminds us that “a hundred generations of the descendants of Judah Maccabee have transmitted Judaism to you” and asks […]

In this week's parashah, Jacob dreams of angels climbing a ladder reaching from earth to heaven, with God promising to return the descendants of Israel to the Land of Israel. […]

Following Donald Trump’s victory in the 2024 presidential election, Rabbi Hirsch worries about the future of democratic intuitions, reflects on the anti-Zionism and antisemitism and the left's abandonment of liberalism […]

“The contrast between our high self-image and the base evil we are capable of has long baffled and intrigued the greatest minds of our species,” says Rabbi Ammi Hirsch. The […]

On Yom Kippur, Rabbi Ammi Hirsch shared the range of emotions experienced by Jews since October 7, 2023, including anger, love, sorrow, mutual responsibility and determination to recover. Addressing young […]

“What is the most important verse in the Bible?” asks Rabbi Ammi Hirsch on Erev Yom Kippur. “You have all these grand ethical principles: monotheism, equality, justice, humanity, mercy, loving-kindness, […]

“For Jews, our deepest anxieties for the safety of our people — the product of centuries of repressed traumas — have reawakened and our confidence in the West's ability to […]

Rabbi Ammi Hirsch opens the Rosh Hashanah evening services with a message of resilience: “There is a stone slab in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. It was carved around the […]

Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch reflects on the unsettling feeling that world events are driving history. Yet he reminds us of Judaism’s central plea: You must not remain indifferent. “Compassion is not […]

Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch shares his grief over the crushing loss of the six Israeli hostages and prays for the speedy return of the hostages still alive in captivity.

In this week’s parashah, God commands, ‘See, this day I set before you blessing and curse.’ Rabbi Dalia Samansky asks, “What does it mean to SEE rather than HEAR?” She […]

“Have you been following the emergence of what may be as many as a trillion cicadas throughout the Midwest and Southeast?” asks Rabbi Ammi Hirsch. Maybe not. “New Yorkers don't […]

“This is an existential moment, not only for Israel, but for us in North America. We are in the midst of a great ideological struggle, the outcome of which will […]

Rabbi Ammi Hirsch has been warning for years that America's campuses have been devolving into hotbeds of radical and illiberal theories. “The reason that the protests have descended into outrageous […]

“Our Sages teach: ‘Fire does not ignite in a lone stick of wood, but in a pile of kindling.' American campuses have been drying up for a long time,” says […]

After a scary night that saw 300 missiles and attack drones launched at Israel by the Iranian regime, Rabbi Ammi Hirsch delivers a message to the congregation and a prayer […]

On our recent mission to Israel, Rabbi Ammi Hirsch scheduled time for our congregation to pick strawberries. But he didn’t expect that morning to be among the most moving of […]

Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch, senior rabbi at New York City's historic 116-year-old Stephen Wise Free Synagogue and one of America’s foremost Reform Zionist leaders, delivered remarks at a rally on April […]

“In many ways it is still October 7th. Time froze,” says Rabbi Ammi Hirsch, offering his perspective of where we are five months later, on the Shabbat before embarking for […]

In this week’s parashah, we read about “the eternal flame” — the lamp that burned continuously in the Tabernacle. “The light of the eternal flame, according to our Sages, is […]

Rabbi Ammi Hirsch offers impressions from his two long days of jury duty: “There is no such thing as perfect justice. Everything human is filled with human imperfections. The entire […]

Rabbi Ammi Hirsch takes a satirical look at antisemitism.

“When we consider our way of life, the great American institutions of higher learning play a critical role. Conformity and groupthink portend the dangerous decline of liberalism and, with it, […]

“God's first act was the creation of light, but human corruption restricts our vision, diminishing the radiance of existence,” says Rabbi Ammi Hirsch. “Our task is to recapture that light. […]

“There is a three-year-old girl named Avigail in the Gaza dungeons. Whenever I think of her, I am devastated,” says Rabbi Ammi Hirsch. “How did it come to this — […]

Reflecting on the massacre of over 1,400 Israelis by Hamas, Rabbi Ammi Hirsch wonders: “What culture, what mindset, what belief system produces — or condones — such brutality?” This week's […]

A week after Hamas massacred more than 1,000 Israeli civilians, “we gather for Shabbat on the day that Hamas has termed ‘A Day of Rage,'” says Rabbi Ammi Hirsch. “These […]

At a gathering mourning the surprise attack by Hamas on Israeli civilians and expressing solidarity with Israel, Rabbi Ammi Hirsch said: “We saw in vivid reality what a pogrom looks […]

Fifty years after the outbreak of the Yom Kippur War, Rabbi Ammi Hirsch reflects on his experience as a 14-year-old new Israeli immigrant and the Jewish state's brilliant successes and […]

An encounter with a very non-New York couple leaves a lasting impression on Rabbi Ammi Hirsch. “They reminded me of the basic truth of our tradition: that a wise person […]

From the summit of Hitler’s Eagle's Nest high in the Bavarian Alps, Rabbi Ammi Hirsch gazed upon now-tranquil Europe and reflected: “The brilliant Jewish intellectuals who helped create and define […]

“I fear that we are losing the soul of the Reform movement,” said Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch at the opening of Re-CHARGING Reform Judaism, a two-day conference gathering more than 300 […]

Leviticus spells out what may happen if we act unjustly — in shocking detail, says Rabbi Ammi Hirsch. And with disconcerting prescience, it predicts the survivors “shall stumble over one […]

“We’ve made it to 75!” says Rabbi Ammi Hirsch on Israel’s 75th Independence Day. “The Jewish state is our supreme accomplishment and the demographic center of the Jewish world. It […]

Rabbi Ammi Hirsch struggles to understand how his dental plan could deny his claim. “Try putting yourself in another's shoes — or the dentist's chair,” he suggests.

“This will be the most painful sermon of my career,” says Rabbi Ammi Hirsch as he addresses the crisis in Israel. “Something fundamental is at stake. It is not only […]

“The purpose of the Tabernacle was to promote the high and noble ideal of God,” says Rabbi Ammi Hirsch. But the Torah focuses on the minute details of its construction. […]

Israeli archaeologists recently made a remarkable find: textile scraps containing the brilliant color of purple mentioned in this week's parashah. “Imagine being invited to Solomon's court and peeking into his […]

The crossing at the Red Sea was the moment everything changed. “Every Jew must consider themselves as if they were slaves in Egypt,” says Rabbi Ammi Hirsch, recalling our synagogue's […]

“Congressman George Santos is young and articulate, has an amazing resume — and is a proud American Jew. There's just one problem: none of it is true…” says Rabbi Ammi […]

Prompted by this melancholy season to ponder the passage of time, our Rabbi Ammi Hirsch shares a connection that Jewish tradition draws between Jacob and Hanukkah. “We never know how […]