“Care, Not Criminalization March” on May 24th at 5pm

On May 24th, the #CareNotCuts and The People’s Plan Coalition (of which VOCAL-NY and JFREJ are a part) will be hosting the “Care, Not Criminalization” mass mobilization. We will be gathering with a broad coalition of New York City groups (including T’ruah EMI partner Freedom Agenda) to demand a city budget that funds dignity, safety, and opportunity for all...
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Democracy: Remembering Where We Are Going

A d’var Torah for Yitro (Ex.18:1-20:23) by Rabbi Gordon Tucker. The Book of Eikhah (Lamentations) contains this apparently oxymoronic phrase when speaking of how ancient Judea had lost its moral way: “It did not remember its future” (1:9). What could it mean to remember something that is not in the past? The usual ways of...
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Paying Priests, Paying Parents

This past weekend, many of us celebrated Father’s Day to honor the important work our dads do. A month ago, we did the same thing to honor our mothers: BBQs and brunches, phone calls and cards in the mail, “Number 1 Mom” mugs and “World’s Best Dad” baseball caps. As a congregational rabbi, I spend...
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Opening the Door at Passover

At the first Passover, we marked our doorposts with the blood of a sacrificial lamb to protect us from the Angel of Death (Exodus 12:23). Although that was a one-time ritual, doors continue to be a central symbol of the holiday. It is a symbol that seems more relevant than ever in an age when nativism...
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How to Make Our Racial Equity Commitments Endure

Listening to (the shofar's) blasts, we hold so many good intentions about the year to come... That is why the robust structures for anti-racism work... are so important. They give us a path to walk, a process to follow, and so they seek to avoid backsliding into complacency.
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