Yovel Text Study: D’ror (Liberation)

In the yovel year, the enslaved go free; the Hebrew word d’ror refers to this release, and to liberty itself. Perhaps the most famous use of Leviticus 25:10 is on Philadelphia’s Liberty Bell, on which is enscribed: “Proclaim LIBERTY throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof”.  The iconic bell was created for the...
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Not By Might: My Israel/Palestine

I am starting to write this from a cramped seat on an El Al flight to join the Center for Jewish NonViolence action from May 14-23 in the West Bank. I’ve been asked to drash Beha’alotecha in light of this trip, but, full disclosure, I have to write now because there won’t be enough time after...
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The Fast of Inevitability

“This isn’t a marathon we’re in. It’s a sprint.” I was privileged to hear Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum say these words to a small group of rabbis last week, and it chilled my blood. It was the exact opposite of what I have been hearing from activists since November 9th, that we need to prepare and...
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May Your Clothes Never Wear Out

This d’var Torah is sponsored by Bob Rottenberg in honor of his good friend and sofer, Rabbi Kevin Hale of Western Massachusetts, for above-and-beyond work reconstructing his aging tefillin.  It was torture wandering in the desert, those forty years, and the Israelites let everyone know it. Over and over, throughout the books of Exodus and Numbers,...
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El Maleh Rachamim for Victims of Racial Violence

El Maleh Rachamim is the memorial prayer recited at funerals and during Yizkor, the memorial service included in Yom Kippur and other festival services. This version honors the memory of all those who have been murdered throughout America’s history because of their race–those who died under slavery or the Native American genocide, those lynched or bombed,...
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In Time of Upheaval: Wonder & Awe OR Wealth & Wall?

Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel taught that there are two ways of being in the world: “the way of expediency” and “the way of wonder.” In the former, we seek to take what we can from the world and others; in the latter, our focus is on how we can serve. When we are driven by...
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Al Chet Sh’chatanu

I felt rage and disappointment in their choices and positions. Being a rabbi in Texas meant I was constantly trying to connect our moral traditions to political action, while simultaneously removing any hint of partisanship from the conversation. For a long time, I walked the delicate balance, recognizing that while our values relate to our...
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Lift Up Your Lulav And Yourself

This past summer, my family moved out of our cramped New York apartment and into a beautiful new home in western Massachusetts. The people are wonderful, there are farmstands selling local fruits and veggies everywhere, and there are lots of hiking trails minutes from our front door. But if you’ve ever moved to a new...
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Hunger: Edom or Israel?

There were three hundred and sixty five thoroughfares in the great city of Rome, and in each there were three hundred and sixty five palaces; and in each palace, there were three hundred and sixty five stories and each story contained sufficient to provide the whole world with food. (Talmud Bavli Pesachim 118b) With less...
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True Shalom for Planet Earth

“‘Shalom! Shalom!’ (They say.) But there is no Shalom.” (Jeremiah 6:14) The prophet Jeremiah lambasted the leaders of Jerusalem for declaring that everything was well and for making light of the very real dangers he perceived. Of course, they didn’t listen. The role of prophet seems designed for frustration. A prophet (1) calls out foreseeable disaster;...
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