Reckoning with Our Skeletons Beneath the Ground

We are not bound to the worldviews and ideologies of those who came before us, but neither can we discard the ancestors with whom we disagree. How do we engage in the often difficult spiritual task of recognizing the image of God in the forebears with whom we deeply disagree, without capitulating to or validating the ideologies they espoused?
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Cultivating a Culture of Giving

For the sake of the food insecure in these difficult days, and for the future health of our country, I hope that Ki Tavo’s powerful linking of sacred space and religiosity to the obligation to give to those in need can be strengthened. As Americans increasingly seek spirituality and community outside of organized religion, community builders, religious and non-religious alike, must work to cultivate cultures of giving.
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Rabbis Ellen Lippmann and Tirzah Firestone smile near a worksite. T'ruah at 20 logo.

Rabbi Ellen Lippmann: Looking back 20 years, I stand in awe and gratitude

Throughout 2022, T’ruah will be sharing reflections from chaverim, staff, board members, students, alumni and more in celebration of our 20th anniversary. Rabbi Ellen Lippmann is the former Co-Chair of the Board of T’ruah and the founder and rabbi emerita of Kolot Chayeinu/Voices of Our Lives. I knew Rabbi Arik Ascherman in rabbinical school, and admired him then...
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West Bank Tours

T’ruah brings North American Jewish clergy to the occupied Palestinian Territories to bear witness to the effects of the occupation on Palestinians.
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Stop Torture Now: A Complete Rabbinic Sourcebook

This is T’ruah’s primary resource booklet on government-sponsored torture, originally published in 2005. It includes the shorter versions of Rabbi Melissa Weintraub’s articles on torture and Jewish law, insertions for High Holidays services, materials for study and discussion, and the original public letter to the Bush Administration, signed by over 800 rabbis and cantors. The full-length versions...
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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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