Juneteenth: Freedom as an Ongoing Struggle
Rabbinical Student and T'ruah board member Kelly Whitehead on Juneteenth and collective memory.
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Tisha B’Av: Making Reparations after Churban
It is not enough to mourn. Mourning must be accompanied by actions that end the harm being done.
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In Our Rabbis’ Eyes, “Sodomy” Meant Toxic Selfishness
As a whole, the rabbinic discussions about Sodom demonstrate that, for the rabbis, the true definition of “sodomy” is toxic selfishness combined with an extreme devotion to property rights.
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Pharaoh and King
Martin Luther King, whose birthday we remember and celebrate this week, confirmed what Pharaoh’s behavior already taught us: God helps each of us become who we are determined to become. Amongst the most obvious differences between the modern giant of social justice and the ancient Egyptian ruler is that MLK had, in his own words,...
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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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The Holy Task of Welcoming People Re-Entering Society
The experiences of those returning from incarceration recall the Torah’s description of someone with tzara’at, an infectious and highly stigmatized skin disease.
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Watch: Israel-Hamas War Public Webinars
Since the attacks on October 7, T'ruah has offered public webinars for prayer and mourning, to engage with the moral challenges of the war, and to hear from staff who traveled to the region.
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Criticism of Israel and Antisemitism: How to Tell Where One Ends and the Other Begins
In this time of inflamed passions, it’s crucial both to ensure that criticism of Israel does not cross the line into antisemitism, and to protect the free speech of those protesting Israel’s actions.
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