Migrants on God’s Land

That’s how I found myself chanting and marching, yelling to children that they were not forgotten, that they were loved – while holding the hand of my youngest son, whom I love so much it hurts. Having a child is like letting your heart walk around outside of your body.
read more

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...
read more

You, Too, Can Be An Angel

Y’tziyat Mitzraim, the Exodus from Egypt, stands as one of the defining stories of the Jewish people. It defines our identity, provides a moral mission and stands as the paradigm for the ultimate redemption. Scripture reminds us no less than thirty-two times of our status as slaves and strangers in Egypt. We know the affliction...
read more

The Symbolism of Planting During a Shmita Year

While we are deeply connected to the land of Israel, with spiritual roots that seek to implant themselves in its rich soil, connection is not predetermination. What we build on top of the land, as a civilization with our own agency, matters just as much. Whom we build it with matters.
read more

The Holiest Place on Earth

Think of all the reasons you can get kicked out of Disneyland: if you are caught cutting in line; if you take video on roller coasters; if you smoke in undesignated areas; if you (an adult) dress up as a Disney character. (I love this last one!) I know that for some people, Disneyland/World are...
read more

Protesting Leshem Shamayim

The old Yiddish proverb laments, “It is not easy to be a Jew.” Moshe might add, “How much the more so to be a Jewish leader.” Parashat Korach appears in what Everett Fox refers to as “the rebellion narratives” in the Book of Bamidbar. Was Moshe Rabbenu blessed with the congregation from hell? After their...
read more

Sign up for updates and action alerts