Ritual and Regulation: A Priestly Corrective to Prophecy

Commentary on Parshat Kedoshim (Leviticus 19:1 – 20:27) In the Bible, there are two traditions, the prophetic and the priestly, both of which aim at building a good society, but do so taking very different approaches. In the Haftarah read on Yom Kippur the prophet Isaiah famously demands: “Is such the fast I desire, a...
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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...
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Our Positions & Policies

Two Sovereign States for Israelis and Palestinians The world is sustained by justice, truth and peace: דין אמת ושלום. As rabbis, cantors, and Jewish community members who love and care deeply about Israel, we believe that a just and secure future for Israelis and Palestinians will best be achieved by a negotiated resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict...
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Previous Honorees

2023 Honorees Former Congressman Andy Levin A former member of Congress, union organizer, human rights activist, workforce policy expert and green energy entrepreneur, Andy Levin brought his unique expertise to the halls of Congress as the proud representative for Michigan’s 9th District from 2018 to 2022. While in Washington, Andy authored, cosponsored, and helped pass...
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The Other Side of the River, the Other Side of the Sea

Complete PDF to print at home. To print at home, make sure your printer is set up to print double-sided pages, and that they flip on the short side, not the long side. Fold the papers in half when they have finished printing, and use staples along the fold line to keep the pages together. The...
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Crying Out Loud

A year ago exactly, we were preparing for our Human Trafficking Awareness Shabbat. The theme resonated so much–as it still does today–with the biblical narrative: Jewish bondage in Egypt. We never expected that a real life sex trafficking case would happen practically on our doorstep. It happened two blocks south of our synagogue, in the...
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“Satiety Leads to Rebellion”

The problem with taking my children to Disney World is that upon returning home, they kvetch about wanting to return to the Happiest Place on Earth. The thousands of junky Disney calories and hundreds of amusements lead my children and, I must ruefully confess, me, to “grow fat and kick”,” in the words of the...
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A Time for Realism, or a Time for Imagination?

For many of us, we anticipate that this week will be full of so much change and upheaval, fear and anger, anxiety and sadness, and hopefully also motivation and drive to act. So how do we respond in the face of great challenge? Our Israelite ancestors certainly faced some pretty trying circumstances, so what can...
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A Place in the Camp

In 2009, Rabbi Stephanie Kolin lobbied at the Massachusetts State House for transgender rights. In her testimony, she shared that she had led a trip to Israel and described the reaction of one of the participants when they arrived at the Kotel, which includes separate sections for men and women: He said through his tears,...
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Private Prisons, God’s People

A number of years ago my husband’s nephew suggested that we invest some funds with him in high-risk high-yield bonds. We did. After earning a good return, I asked my husband what his nephew had done with our money. He answered that his nephew, among other ventures, had invested in for-profit prisons. I was horrified....
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