A Flood of Unsafe Water
On August 31st, 2005, I sat waiting for a connection in Brussels, coming back from a summer studying in Israel. I was about to begin rabbinical school in just a few weeks. TVs streamed footage of the devastation of Hurricane Katrina; it was the first I knew of it, having been cut off from most...
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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...
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Strangers in our Healthcare System
...we can no longer afford to be strangers within the healthcare system.
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Joseph’s Jailor and Gideon’s Trumpet: The Scourge of Wrongful Conviction
The Biblical Joseph evokes the dreamer, technicolor coat, and predictions that saved Egypt from famine. Less often recalled is the Joseph who rotted in jail for a crime he didn’t commit. Joseph’s slavemaster Potiphar summarily incarcerated Joseph based on the lie of Potiphar’s wife that Joseph had come on to her when, in fact, Joseph...
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A Mirror For Our Giving
My sister is developmentally disabled. Although she is very high functioning, she still needs a lot of support, including financially. She is able to live independently and, until two years ago, was fully employed. She is approaching 60 and, as she ages, her increasing physical issues affect her functioning. She was laid off from her...
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Getting to Know You
True relationships, born out of love and respect, take time to develop. These relationships require intimacy and occasionally discomfort in order to truly know each other.
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Counting everyone, including the stranger, for the 2020 Census
A d’var Torah for Parshat Naso. “The Eternal one spoke to Moses: Take a census.” This week’s Torah portion, Naso, focuses on one of the multiple censuses that was carried out, the census of the Levites in the desert. This year in the U.S. is our year to carry out the census — to be...
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Justice for the Land and Its Inhabitants
Commentary on Parshat Behar (Leviticus 25:1 – 26:2) In Leviticus 25, the Torah famously explains the practice of the sabbatical year (shmitah) and the jubilee year (yovel), in which those who work the land refrain from farming in order to let the land rest. It’s not hard to see a connection between the ancient practice...
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Ways to Give
Thank you for your tax-deductible gift, which brings a rabbinic moral voice to human rights in North America, Israel, and the occupied Palestinian territories. Donate Online Donate by Mail Make your check out to: T’ruah266 West 37th Street, Suite 803New York, NY 10018 Join the Shofar Society By giving monthly to T’ruah, you amplify the moral...
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