Elevating Our Hearts and Spirits Towards Justice
The Mishkan was not just a compound our ancestors built; it is a state of mind that we can inhabit.
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Walking Free: Democracy and Incarceration
Of all the places I have served in a rabbinic capacity, the maximum-security prison where I serve now is the most religious.
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Yitro: The Jewish Case for Protecting Voting Rights in 2024
As inheritors of a multi-vocal Jewish tradition that welcomes dissent and minority opinions, allowing people the chance to freely, legally, and openly participate in the democratic process strikes me as very Jewish. So to look at some of these harsh policies that stifle the voices of the downtrodden contradicts so much of what we hold dear in Judaism.
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Reawakening the Justice of the Upper World: A Musical T’ruah
In this week’s parshah, Moses delivers a speech in the form of a song, marshaling the witnesses of heaven and earth to give ear to his words.
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Balak: Bilam’s Donkey: Judaism’s First Emotional Support Animal
As we draw nearer to the November elections, we see constant reminders that our democracy is a work-in-progress. By practicing democracy — working to get out the vote, engaging in conversation, writing letters to the editor — we will make democracy a reality.
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Sukkot: Sukkot and the Human Right of Dwelling Safely
Perhaps Sukkot is the festival of understanding our journey, for journeys have no concrete and steel foundations, only earth and sandy feet. And the yearning that should come out of this collective memory must be a passionate commitment to end homelessness everywhere, physical, spiritual, or national.
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Real Leadership
Rabbi David Ackerman on Pinchas' two distinct visions of leadership, and two sharply divergent paradigms of proper behavior on the part of a leader.
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Every Person Counts? (Parshat Bamidbar)
Commentary on Parshat Bamidbar (Numbers 1:1-4:20) Our Torah portion opens with the taking of another census of B’nai Yisrael – the Children of Israel – this time “listed by their clans, ages 20 years and up, all those in Israel who are able to bear arms…” (Num. 1:2) This is census number three since the...
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Each Person, A Letter of Torah
Rabbi Kimberly Herzog Cohen writes on Bamidbar and making every person count.
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