Parashat Bamidbar: The Imperative to Provide Refuge

My father’s family were refugees from Vienna, who fled just before World War II broke out, but not before my grandfather had been deported to Dachau. He remained incarcerated there from November 13, 1938, until January 19, 1939. He knew he had to leave Austria with his family. But leaving wasn’t easy. First, it meant...
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What I Learned In Prison

About three years ago, I was called by the Head Chaplain of the Butner Federal Correction Institution located forty-five minutes north of my home in Raleigh, NC. This is the same penitentiary where (in)famous prisoners like Jonathan Pollard and Bernard Madoff currently reside. The chaplain’s message came with a southern drawl: “Rabbi, we have a...
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Writing a Campaign for Fair Food Op/Ed

A guide for Jewish leaders by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights. We hope this will inspire you to write an OpEd of your own. Since talking points often change, please email T’ruah for the most up-to-date language and for help with editing and placement.
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Black Lives Matter: A Prayer

Inspired by Yehudah Amichai z”l and Rabbi Rachel Barenblat In memory of Mike Brown z”l, Eric Garner z”l, and many, many others Recited as part of a Pilgrimage of Lament Berkeley, CA 12/14/14           Dearest God, We stand before you because we must. We stand before You because truths that should...
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Modern Barbecue

I have had a strange relationship with eating meat over the course of my life. At some points I have cut out red meat, then all meat, and now “some meat depending on what it looks like.” My aversion to meat has a lot to do with its appearance, its preparation, and how it is...
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Sacred Intimacy: Sacred Obligation

A man must not withhold sexual pleasure from his wife. This is God’s message in this week’s parasha (Exodus 21:10). The context is: “if [a slave woman] proves to be displeasing to her master who designated her for himself… [and] if he marries another, he must not withhold from this [slave woman] her nearness of...
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Fear

In December I sat with M., a thirty-four year old man who is seeking asylum. Over the course of 3 ½ hours, M. told me what he had endured for many years in his country that propelled him to leave his home and his country to embark on a harrowing journey in search of asylum....
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Re-digging the Wells of Justice

I’ve always felt a little bad for Yitzchak Avinu. He perennially seems to be in somebody else’s shadow. In Parashiot Lech Lecha, Vayera, and Chayei Sarah, he is a plot device in the story of Avraham and Sarah, more an idea – the promise of a child and heir, the threat of his being taken...
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