Rabbi Sari Laufer

Rabbi Sari Laufer

Rabbi Sari Laufer (she/her) is the Chief Engagement Officer at Stephen Wise Temple and Schools in Los Angeles. Ordained by Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion Los Angeles in 2006, Rabbi Laufer is a teacher of the young and young-at-heart, bringing her passion for rabbinic texts and Judaism’s wisdom and relevance into the lives of those with whom she is privileged to learn and share.

Photo of two feet walking on a tightrope
Sukkot

Real and Imagined: A Sukkot Balancing Act

D'Var Torah By: Rabbi Sari Laufer
The Torah reading for the Shabbat of Sukkot was certainly chosen for its reference to the holidays in Exodus 34:18-23. But at the end of Exodus 33, Moses makes a request for his wild and precious life, one which offers powerful lessons for Sukkot even today.
Photo of a metal star of david and vines in a synagogue
Yom Kippur

Shifting from Judgement to Mercy

D'Var Torah By: Rabbi Sari Laufer
It is incredibly powerful that we are reminded on Yom Kippur, not (only) of God's power, but our own. So much High Holiday theology feels like it lies in stark contrast to this. We read of God's sovereignty and dominion; we beg Our Parent, Our Sovereign for goodness and mercy.
Photo of a girl covering her face with her hands
Haazinu

Playing Hide-and-Seek with God

D'Var Torah By: Rabbi Sari Laufer
A quick glance shows that Haazinu is different from all other portions: it's laid out as a poem--unusual for the Torah, a text that is almost entirely prose. The poem in Haazinu creates room for so much else: blessings and curses, fears and hopes, and successes and failures.
Photo of a young girl wearing a pink jacket feeding ducks next to a pond
Ki Teitzei

How Can Birds Teach Us About Compassion?

D'Var Torah By: Rabbi Sari Laufer
Ki Teitzei seems, at first glance, to be a hodgepodge of laws which often touch on very painful topics. We see laws about captive women, unloved second wives, strict gender norms, and more. Ki Teitzei is not a pleasant read, especially for the modern reader.
Photo of a small wooden house, sitting on a wooden table with two red hearts placed in front of house
Ki Tavo

The Blessings of Home

D'Var Torah By: Rabbi Sari Laufer
Our encounter with Parashat Ki Tavo is focused on blessings and curses -- the opportunities and consequences of following or not following God's commandments are laid out in (sometimes gory) detail. But before all the blessings and the curses is an important moment of context setting in the very first verse of the portion.