From the Pulpit: Taking Agency - Lessons from Yom Kippur

In the second of two special High Holiday episodes, Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove and Jon Frankel return to the pulpit, revisiting sermons delivered during Yom Kippur at Park Avenue Synagogue and discussing the personal experiences and ideas that shaped them.In “Taking Agency,” Rabbi Cosgrove considers one of Yom Kippur's most demanding lessons: even when we cannot control what happens to us, we remain responsible for how we respond. From the biblical story of Judah to the relationships and divisions of our own lives, he challenges us to stop focusing solely on what others have done wrong and instead ask, “How am I responsible? And what is mine to do?”Then, in his deeply personal Yizkor sermon, “Out of the Picture,” Rabbi Cosgrove remembers his late teacher and mentor, Michael Brooks, whose life was devoted to empowering others rather than placing himself at the center. His example becomes a meditation on memory, mentorship and mortality—and on how we honor those we've lost not simply by remembering them, but by carrying their values and unfinished work forward.Together, the sermons offer a challenge for the year ahead: take responsibility for the life you are living, recognize what you have been given, and consider what you will leave behind. Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove:https://www.instagram.com/elliot_cosgrovehttps://x.com/RabbiCosgrovePark Avenue Synagogue: https://www.pasyn.orghttps://www.instagram.com/parkavenuesyn/#Jon Frankel:https://www.instagram.com/skifrankel Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.