Behar: Getting from Here to There

We are returning from the mountain to the plains; from our highest ideals to the practicalities of daily living; from the most fundamental expression of holiness to where we are now.
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Rabbi Toba Spitzer

Rabbi Toba Spitzer has served Congregation Dorshei Tzedek since she was ordained in 1997 at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College (RRC). Rabbi Spitzer is a popular teacher of courses on Judaism and economic justice, Reconstructionist Judaism, new approaches to thinking about God, and the practice of integrating Jewish spiritual and ethical teachings into daily life. She has written...
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Appropriate Responses

The rape of Jacob’s daughter Dinah by Shechem and subsequent verses (Bereshit, chapter 34) is one of the most disheartening episodes in the entire Torah. Where is Dinah’s voice in this narrative? What did Dinah think and feel? Who comforted her after such a frightening episode? Sadly, shockingly, we never hear from Dinah. She speaks...
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The Sound of Longing

Rabbi Maya Glasser points to the importance of recognition, whether with Zelophehad's daughters in Parshat Pinchas, or those in solitary confinement in our own day.
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Abraham and the Unexpected Needs of Refugees

As our ancestor Abraham experienced, our most liminal moments also often coincide with moments calling for meaning-making and the rituals that bring us spiritually home. Yet few who flee by forced circumstances arrive with the means that Abraham had to purchase the dignity of sacred space and time.
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Pinchas: If the Law Is Wrong, Change It

The daughters of Zelophehad had previously been disenfranchised by the system but were able to advocate for themselves and not only did God heed their request, God changed the law entirely. We must act as the daughters of Zelophehad and reconcile the injustices we find.
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Can the Israeli Occupation Be Just? A T’ruah Year-in-Israel Program Screening of “The Law in These Parts”

  Join the T’ruah Israel Program for a special film screening of “The Law In These Parts,” the award-winning Israeli documentary film. RSVP via the link to guarantee a spot. Room is limited. Free vegetarian kosher dinner is included!   The film presents interviews former Israeli Supreme Court Justices and other top jurists who crafted the Israeli occupation’s legal infrastructure in...
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A Q&A with Charlottesville’s Rabbi Tom Gutherz and Rabbi Rachel Schmelkin

On Aug. 12, 2017 Rabbi Tom Gutherz and Rabbi Rachel Schmelkin of Charlottesville’s Congregation Beth Israel — the city’s only synagogue — confronted a nightmare in their backyard: the horrifying Unite the Right Nazi rally. T’ruah was the only major national Jewish organization with a presence at the counter-protests that day. T’ruah honored both rabbis...
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Devon Spier

Devon Spier is a rabbinical student at the Academy for Jewish Religion, expected to graduate in 2022, and committed to radical compassion that catalyzes Jews and non-Jews to show up for each other. Devon’s experiences at Solel Congregation, in NFTY-NEL, URJ Kutz Camp and Newman illuminated her passion for Jewish encounter. Her gap year in Israel...
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