Rabbi Judith Edelstein, D. Min.

Ki Tetze: We Cannot Look Away

You may be familiar with the notion about the wounded healer, popularized by the author Henri Nouwen in his book by that name. He asserts: “When we become aware that we do not have to escape our pains, but that we can mobilize them into a common search for life, those very pains are transformed...
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Rabbi Lisa D. Grant, Ph.D.

Sukkot: The Tikkun of Climate Action

Let Sukkot be our call to action this year. May it give us the spiritual resolve to live in the midst of great uncertainty and challenge, and to take action to pursue climate justice in this vast interconnected world of ours.
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Rabbi Anna Boswell-Levy

Lech Lecha: Land, Safety, Peoplehood, Pain

Land, for Jews and all peoples, equals safety, security, and sustained fruitfulness. It is home. May we always be grounded in the knowledge that the gift of land and the blessing of home hinges entirely on the choices we make, day after day, to co-exist peaceably with others, as neighbors, as family.
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Rabbi Lev Meirowitz Nelson

Vayera: War Ethics from Kabbalah

What feels so hard in this moment is that I don’t know what the right course of action is. One of the problems I see in the world’s response to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack is a preponderance of either Chesed or Gevurah thinking.
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Rabbi Josh Breindel

Vayishlach: We Need Stories to Counter the Narrative of Endless War

Let’s find courage together by sharing our stories about the world we wish to create; the world we want our children to inherit. As Herzl famously said about the State of Israel, “If you wish it, it is no myth.” It’s similar for crafting a world of peace: By telling our stories, they become no myth; our words become an act of redemptive creation.
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Rabbi Ian Chesir-Teran

Vayeshev: No to Nekamah

This Chanukah, let’s choose to follow the examples of Joseph and Tamar, and say no to nekamah. When the time comes to say the “Al Hanissim” prayer, let’s skip the vengeful words “nakamta et nikmatam.”
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Headshot of Rabbi Allan Berkowitz

Terumah: How Much is a Human Being Worth?

Theologically speaking, to be human is to be sacred. Full stop. During human engagement, when we remain mindful of the sanctity of the other person, we bring acknowledgment of our shared holiness and further elevate the other and ourselves.
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