Reaching Past Our Boundaries

Commentary on Parshat Metzora (Leviticus 14:1 – 15:33) One of the most powerful experiences I had during my rabbinic training was serving as a hospital chaplain. I practiced chaplaincy with a group of five other people on the path to becoming clergy of various faiths, and we were trained by a supervisor – an ordained...
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Living by Our Values

Commentary on Parshat Acharei Mot (Leviticus 16:1 – 18:30) When my pluralistic Jewish school’s 11th- and 12th-grade students visited a nearby Roman Catholic school for our annual “Friends in Faith” program, they finished the icebreakers and the lively Quiz Bowl game, and then they walked towards the chapel for a mid-morning visit and explanation of...
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Praying With Our Feet

“Praying for freedom never did me any good ‘til I started praying with my feet.” – Frederik Douglas “On the seventh day there shall be a Sabbath of complete rest, a sacred occasion.  You shall do no work.” – Leviticus 23:2-3 (Parshat Emor) We are blessed to live in a thriving democracy.  Though American and...
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Justice for the Land and Its Inhabitants

Commentary on Parshat Behar (Leviticus 25:1 – 26:2) In Leviticus 25, the Torah famously explains the practice of the sabbatical year (shmitah) and the jubilee year (yovel), in which those who work the land refrain from farming in order to let the land rest. It’s not hard to see a connection between the ancient practice...
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