The necessary work of teshuva cannot be completed by one individual alone. Rather, our mandate to uphold God’s name “in truth, in justice and in righteousness” can only be achieved through collective action.
As we draw nearer to the November elections, we see constant reminders that our democracy is a work-in-progress. By practicing democracy — working to get out the vote, engaging in conversation, writing letters to the editor — we will make democracy a reality.
Strategically, we stand a better chance of finding our way if we do not dismiss (other's) capacity for moral reasoning. We stand a better chance of moving their hearts if we assume they have one.
Two decades later, it is easier to see how we were tempted by the idols of that time, but it is still hard to recognize the idols of today. We remember the sheer panic of 19 years ago, and how we longed for someone — anyone — to make us feel safe again. Those who told us that we need only sacrifice a bit of our liberty for safety often gave us neither. Looking back, we remember just how hollow those promises were.
Rabbi Sandra Lawson shares the Torah of her own family's Lech Lecha moments and the value of meeting people across difference that she has learned from all of them.
Commentary on Parshat Lech Lecha (Genesis 12:1 – 17:27) Our third and youngest child started college this fall. She left her city, her birthplace, and the only house she has lived in. At least once a day, someone asks me, “How’s the empty nest?” The answer is complicated, because I’m not in the nest anymore...
Before I was a rabbi, I was a lawyer. Most of my legal career was spent assessing almost-inevitably doomed appeals. These were often criminal cases based upon what are popularly called “technicalities.” That work came back to me when I read the story of Nadav and Avihu, to which we return again this week in parshat...