Terumah’s Rules for Radicals

As we move into the second month of the current presidential administration, it has become readily apparent to those of us engaged in the struggle for justice, equality, and human dignity that this will not be a quick or easy battle. These fights are always hard, and long, and come with a dozen defeats before...
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Atzma’ut and Atzamot: The Bones of Israel

Reading haftarah on Shabbat Chol HaMoed Pesach, we saw through the prophet Ezekiel’s eyes a valley full of dry bones (bikah meleah atzamot) declaring that their hope is gone (avdah tikvateinu). For a living human being, bearing witness to human mortality at vast scale is profoundly unsettling. These bones in earth show us where we come...
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Not By Might: My Israel/Palestine

I am starting to write this from a cramped seat on an El Al flight to join the Center for Jewish NonViolence action from May 14-23 in the West Bank. I’ve been asked to drash Beha’alotecha in light of this trip, but, full disclosure, I have to write now because there won’t be enough time after...
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The Coming Earthquake

Have you ever been in an earthquake? April, 1979 in Jerusalem. Studying for my end of year rabbinic exams. The floor started shaking and then stopped. I relaxed for a moment. Then, it started again. This time I looked to where I might run for safety. In a flash I realize that all that beautiful...
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El Maleh Rachamim for Victims of Racial Violence

El Maleh Rachamim is the memorial prayer recited at funerals and during Yizkor, the memorial service included in Yom Kippur and other festival services. This version honors the memory of all those who have been murdered throughout America’s history because of their race–those who died under slavery or the Native American genocide, those lynched or bombed,...
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Simple Acts of Dignity and Loving-Kindness

“If we do nothing more than be aware of the essential elements of dignity in our everyday lives and practice honoring dignity, we will be making an enormous contribution to the healing of shared injuries.”¹ Through my work as a chaplain, I have developed a deep appreciation for the healing power of loving-kindness and the...
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Al Chet Sh’chatanu

I felt rage and disappointment in their choices and positions. Being a rabbi in Texas meant I was constantly trying to connect our moral traditions to political action, while simultaneously removing any hint of partisanship from the conversation. For a long time, I walked the delicate balance, recognizing that while our values relate to our...
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Prayers for the State of Israel

These five prayers for the State of Israel, each written by a different T’ruah chaver, offer a variety of styles and emphases to supplement the more traditional prayers found in our siddurim. Rabbi David Seidenberg uses the format and much of the language of the traditional prayer, adapting it word-by-word to reflect a more progressive...
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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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Holy Human Rights Chutzpah

This Shabbat, Dec. 8-9, is not just the weekend before Chanukah; it’s also that of International Human Rights Day.  We honor this global holiday, Jewishly, when we reread our sacred stories through a human rights lens. On December 10, 1948, the United Nations ratified the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), a document of great...
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