This is a collection of all Eli's speeches, articles, sermons, and essays. This catalogue is regularly updated and organized to provide the best user experience. All files are in PDF format, and all links open in a new window, so you can easily return to continue reading.

Articles, Sermons, and Written works

  1. Religious Responses to the Holocaust: An Essay by Eli Rubenstein (1983)
    [see note at the bottom of the page for more background on this essay]

  2. Alarming Incompetence (Globe & Mail) - Oct 15, 1988

  3. The Big Chill - How the Rush to Accuse Imperils Open Discussion - 1992

  4. Sharing in the Miracle - Diaspora Jewry and Israel - Summer 1998

  5. March of the Living Spurs Jewish Pride -CJN - Apr 26, 2001

  6. Canadian Jewish Students Visit Jedwabne -CJN - May 3, 2001

  7. In The Wake of 9-11 - Kol Nidre Sermon - Sep. 26, 2001

  8. Physician, heal thyself a Sukkot story - CJN - Oct. 4, 2001

  9. A Passover Miracle -CJN - May 27, 2002

  10. Roger Neilson is Remembered for his Love of Israel - Jun. 27, 2003

  11. Every Person in the World Deserves Such a Feeling Jul. 2004

  12. “My father did not abandon the Torah” CJN- Oct. 7, 2005

  13. A Switch in Time (Globe & Mail) - Nov 19, 2005

  14. They will be our Witnesses (CJN) - May 18, 2006

  15. The Quest For Forgiveness - Kol Nidre - Sep. 27, 2007

  16. None Is Too Many-Excerpt from Sermon- Kol Nidre - Oct. 8, 2008

  17. A Plea for the Children of the World – Yad Vashem Speech – Sept. 27, 2009

  18. CJN-Hitler Did Not Win-April-8-2010

  19. Eulogy for Bronka Krygier, March of the Living Survivor – Oct. 11, 2010

  20. A Thesis that Hurts (original text from National Post) Dec 14, 2010

  21. A Thesis That Hurts (Extended Piece) National Post – December 14, 2010

  22. Kol Nidre in Auschwitz – Introduction Yom Kippur 2011

  23. March of the Living Director Shares Survival Stories -CJN - Mar 17, 2011

  24. A Monument of Good Deeds - CJN - April 27, 2011

  25. Hate is Never Right, and Love is Never Wrong - CJN - May 4, 2011

  26. The Healing Power Of Story- Jun 19, 2011

  27. Is the Holocaust Unique? [plus response] – September 8, 2011

  28. Jewish Cemetery Rededicated in Poland -CJN - Oct 27, 2011

  29. Max Eisen CJN – A Story of Courage and Gratitude - 2011

  30. The Kol Nidre [I will always Remember] – Oct. 2011

  31. A Time To Gather Stones – Kol Nidre Sermon, Oct. 2011

  32. Cast a Stone Upon the Waters- Student Session - Intro to Ms. Kiran Bhinder from Eli Rubenstein [ in Ottawa]

  33. Rosh Hashana Day 1 - The True Legacy of Abraham - Sep. 17, 2012

  34. Yom Kippur [Short] Sermon - On Kindness & Gratitude - Sep. 26, 2012

  35. Spiritual Leader Helps Build Stronger Community CJN - Nov 8, 2012

  36. Now We Have A Home Jan 2012

  37. Thank You for Giving Me My Life Back - May 31, 2012

  38. A Tale of Two Anthems - May 23, 2013

  39. Beauty Will Save the World – Kol Nidre Sermon Sep 13, 2013

  40. Speech: Christian Island Elementary School Graduation - Beausoleil First Nation Jun. 24, 2014

  41. Rosh Hashana Day 1 Kids Service - The Birthday of the World - 2014

  42. Tashlich - The Casting - 2014

  43. Time to Ask 70 Years After Her Death: Aas Anne Frank Right? - Mar. 12, 2015

  44. Eulogy for Esther Ghan Firestone, Habonim Cantor Emeritus - May 31, 2015

  45. Baseball's Life Lessons - Final High Holiday Sermon - Sep. 2015

  46. The Day Words Failed Elie Wiesel - July 20, 2016

  47. Honouring Avrum Rosensweig’s 20 Years at Ve’ahavta - Jul. 21, 2016

  48. The Shoah and Jewish Identity - August 3, 2016

  49. Out of the Melting Pot, Into the Fire - Aug. 19, 2016

  50. Waving the Flag at Auschwitz is not an ‘Exercise in Chauvinism’ - Aug. 22, 2016

  51. Four Hopes for the Future of Holocaust Education - CJN - Sep. 29, 2016

  52. The Polish Response to the Holocaust: A Discussion - The Cosmopolitan
    Review - Dec. 18, 2016

  53. What do You Hope the Jewish Community Will Look Like in 50 years? - Aug 14, 2017

  54. Cast a Stone Upon the Waters - Yom Kippur Sermon Sep 30, 2017

  55. Healing Wounded Memories - Jerusalem Post - Apr. 12, 2018

  56. Being Jewish Means Never Giving Up Hope - CJN - Apr. 20, 2018

  57. Remembering Janis Roth: ‘A Blessing for So Many’ -- Jun. 17, 2018

  58. Rosh Hashanah - Confronting The Addiction Crisis - A Jewish View
    and Response 5 Years Later     - Sept. 10, 2018

  59. Why Don’t Jews Proselytize? - CJN - Sep. 17, 2018

  60. The World’s Oldest Hatred- Understanding and Responding
    to Anti-Semitism - Oct. 9, 2018

  61. Let Us Applaud Our Country for Acknowledging Errors - CJN - Nov. 7, 2018

  62. Speech for the MS St. Louis Canada Apology - Nov. 7, 2018

  63. A Conversation with My Polish Taxi Driver - June 2019

  64. Yom Kippur Short Introductory Sermon - October 2019

  65. Yom Kippur Kol Nidre Sermon - The Dangers of Populism - Sep. 27, 2020

  66. Parshat Chayei Sara- On Truth, Kindness, Gender & Inclusivity - Oct 29, 2021

  67. The Crisis in Ukraine: A Jewish Response - Mar. 4, 2022

  68. A Poignant Story Told -March of the Living Report - Spring 2022

  69. The Tragedy in Uvalde, Texas & the Jewish View on Gun Control - May 27, 2022

  70. Shavuot, The Book of Ruth & The Ten Commandments - Jun. 3, 2022

  71. The Potential End of Roe V. Wade: The Jewish View on Abortion - Jun. 24, 2022

  72. Love is Never Wrong: How We Teach the Holocaust - Sep. 27, 2022

  73. Rosh Hashana Day 2 - Thank You For Your Patience - Sep.28, 2022

  74. Climate Change & the Environment: A Jewish Response - Oct. 2, 2022

  75. Kanye West, Kyrie Irving and Dave Chapelle: How Should
    We Respond?     - Nov. 25, 2022

  76. Shavuot Sermon -The Most Important Story in the Torah - May 26, 2023

  77. Annual Musical Gathering on Christian Island - A Tribute to
    Robbie Robertson     - Aug. 13, 2023

  78. Stories of Light & Hope During Difficult Days for the
    Jewish People     - Dec. 8, 2023

  79. Israel at a Crossroads: Responding to Terror & Judicial Reform - Mar. 3, 2023

  80. The Freedom to Question: Passover’s Central Message - Mar. 24, 2023

  81. Parshat Korach – Pluralism in an Age of Gaslighting - Jun 23, 2023

  82. Rosh Hashana Main Sermon 5784 - Walking Humbly
    in the World - Sep. 16, 2023

  83. Teshuva: Finding Your Way Back to Your True Self - Sep. 24, 2023

  84. Marking 100 Days Since October 7th: Reflections from Eli - Jan 14, 2024

  85. What Happens To You Happens To Us: Reflections on Jewish Attitudes
    To Poland - Feb 4, 2024

  86. Evolution vs. Revolution: The Changing Roles of Women in Judaism - Mar 22, 2024

  87. Alexi Navalny & Natan Sharansky: Struggle for Freedom - Apr. 19, 2024

  88. Israel Guide Dog Center Speech - 2024 Solidarity Mission to Israel -.May 12, 2024

  89. What’s So Bad About Gossip - Eli’s Sermon - Jun. 21, 2024

  90. Interview with 2024 Olympic Bronze Medalist Sarah Levy - Aug 9, 2024

  91. Blessing or Curse? Living in the Age of Social Media - Sep. 20, 2024

  92. Rescuing the Memory of the Six Million: One by One by One

  93. The March of the Living - Healing Wounded Memories

  94. Because That’s What You Do – Eli’s Kristallnacht Story

  95. Collected Passover Stories - Eli Rubenstein

Religious Responses to the Holocaust: An Essay by Eli Rubenstein (1983)

A Note About the Essay

Throughout my life, I have been blessed with an education that is as diverse as one could hope for.

The educational institutions I attended included:

  • Eitz Chaim Elementary School (Toronto, Ont.) - 1963- 1974

  • Telshe Yeshiva (Cleveland, Ohio) - 1975- 1977

  • Ner Israel Yeshiva (Toronto, Ont.)- 1977-1978

  • Yeshivat Bais HaTalmud (Jerusalem, Israel)- 1978-1980

  • York University (Toronto, Ont.) - 1980-1985

  • International Institute for Humanistic Judaism (Farmington Hills, Michigan) - Mid 1990s

  • The University of Judaism (Los Angeles, CA) - Mid 1990s

  • Yad Vashem International School for Holocaust Studies (Jerusalem, Israel) - Mid 1990s & 2000s.

Over the years, I have been privileged to study under and learn from many fine teachers, too many to mention - Jewish and non-Jewish - in both religious and secular subjects. These exceptional individuals have blessed me in manifold ways, not just with the wisdom and knowledge imparted, but perhaps more importantly by their example.

Along with their ever-apparent erudition and intelligence, so many of these teachers carried themselves with modesty, humility and the highest integrity - and distinguished themselves by their simple acts of kindness.  Truthfully, these attributes touched me more than their intellectual gifts. 

As the famous Chasidic quote goes: "I did not go to the Rabbi Dov Ber of Mezritch (d. 1772) to learn interpretations of the Torah from him - but to note his way of tying his shoelaces.” (Reb Leib Seres). (Known as the Maggid of Mezeritch, Rabbi Dov Ber was a disciple of the Baal Shem Tov).

One of those wonderful teachers was Professor Michael Brown (of Blessed Memory) at York University, under whose tutelage I began to study the history of the Holocaust. The course was called: "The Final Solution: Perspectives on the Holocaust” in 1983.
Here is the paper I wrote for that course—Religious Responses to the Holocaust—which launched a lifetime of interest in and study of this difficult, complex, but necessary subject.

Eli Rubenstein

Link below: