Human Rights In Progress (Slowly)
Rabbi J. Fred Schwalb traces the history of women's rights in the Torah and offers a prayer for the continued evolution of our ideas.
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Not Striking the Rock Again (Parshat Chukat)
For Parshat Chukat, Rabbi Benjamin Barnett writes about the challenges facing Israel's Bedouin.
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Vayigash: Can We Dream Bigger?
What I think is needed in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories today is the will to break the chain of the blame-game. We need a new generation of dreamers — those who can imagine a future of peace and prosperity for both Palestinians and Israelis together.
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What I Learned In Prison
About three years ago, I was called by the Head Chaplain of the Butner Federal Correction Institution located forty-five minutes north of my home in Raleigh, NC. This is the same penitentiary where (in)famous prisoners like Jonathan Pollard and Bernard Madoff currently reside. The chaplain’s message came with a southern drawl: “Rabbi, we have a...
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Emor: Sacred Times: A Moment to Reflect on AAPI Allyship
This month, we have overlapping “sacred times”: the counting of the Omer and Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month.
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Dispossession in our text and in our world
Jewish stars spray-painted by settlers onto the deserted shops left by Palestinians after they were expelled from Shuhada Street. Bullet holes shot by settlers into the water tanks of Palestinians, who already have erratic and dramatically insufficient water supplies. The palimpsest of “Free Palestine” where settlers have spray painted bold blue stars over the green...
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Balak and Solitary: Dealing With Our Desire To Curse Those Who Harm Us
"In this reorientation from one way of doing things to a better one lies the relevance, power, and teaching for our broken criminal justice system today."
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