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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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Seeing the Dark in a Different Light: The Power of Our Language to Promote Racial Justice
The Black Lives Matter movement has re-focused my attention on the ways that I participate in the racial injustice that is pervasive in our society and culture. One of those ways is through language—both what I say and what I hear. And especially, the ways that I use “light” and “dark” as metaphors for “good”...
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Holding Onto the Image in Every Human Being, Even One’s Adversary
In the militia headquarters in Odessa decades ago, I was surrounded by harsh interrogators who castigated my friend and me for visiting Russian Jews, who were aliens in their eyes. I felt anger and even hatred at these leaders and their many followers who had made Jewish life impossible for a large segment of our...
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The Holiness of Dwelling
“I am a nester,” my friend said just weeks before Pesach, as we pondered the ramifications of her house having been dismantled for mold remediation. Her home is sacred space for her, a place set apart to replenish herself. Normally, she would have been cooking up a storm in her house. Instead, we baked a...
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Sacred Intimacy: Sacred Obligation
A man must not withhold sexual pleasure from his wife. This is God’s message in this week’s parasha (Exodus 21:10). The context is: “if [a slave woman] proves to be displeasing to her master who designated her for himself… [and] if he marries another, he must not withhold from this [slave woman] her nearness of...
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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 Human Right to Have a Child
Commentary on Rosh Hashanah Torah and Haftarah readings. Reproductive rights have been hijacked. When someone mentions the phrase “reproductive rights,” the first things that usually come to mind are either birth control or abortion. However, the ability to prevent pregnancy is only part of reproductive rights. What about the right to have a child? This...
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He Shall Then Remain (Parshat Mishpatim)
Commentary on Parshat Mishpatim (Exodus 21:1 – 24:18) So, we’re free from bondage! We’ve accepted our lot as God’s chosen people! Now we eagerly move on to… a list of regulations for a hypothetical society we cannot build yet? Why is Parshat Mishpatim here? The essential clue, I think, is in the first topic: rules...
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