NYC: Emergency Rally for Israeli Democracy
Please join us in New York City today to make your voice heard.
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Massachusetts
Don’t live in Massachusetts? Check out the Chaverim Hub for opportunities nationally and in your area! Grounded in values of rachamim, mercy, Teshuvah, repentance, and in the understanding that human beings are created b’tzelem Elohim—in the image of God– T’ruah’s rabbis and cantors across the state are leading their communities to fight against mass incarceration...
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Everybody Hurts: Learning from Leviticus to Reclaim Public Ritual Repentance
In this d'var Torah for Parshat Vayikra, Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie examines our ancient tools for healing transgressions.
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Together Toward Redemption: Matot-Masei and the Nine Days
The necessary work of teshuva cannot be completed by one individual alone. Rather, our mandate to uphold God’s name “in truth, in justice and in righteousness” can only be achieved through collective action.
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Our Immigrant Ancestor
Avraham Avinu, our common ancestor Abraham, was an immigrant. “Go,” God commands in this week’s portion, “from your land, from your native territory, from your father’s house to the land that I will show you.” Taking his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and his household members with him, Abram (as he is still named at...
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Mishpatim: Mishpatim in Montana
Mishpatim teaches that formal justice must be free of influence from bribes or wealth status, and that even the stranger deserves protection. In my home state of Montana, regressive laws recently passed in our 2023 state legislature have revoked rights and freedoms from Montana residents under the guise of “protection” and “freedom of speech."
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A Long Walk Continued
Nelson Mandela called his autobiography Long Walk to Freedom, and that title resonates with this week’s Torah portion, Haazinu. This parashah is only one chapter long; it is written in two columns in poetic form, resembling a two lane road; and it records Moses’ last song to the Children of Israel. It is a last...
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The Other Side of Shmita
In Hebrew there is an etymological connection between the words “peace” and “pay”. The root of each, shin lamed mem, has lent merit to the quip that “if it is not paid for there is no peace.” One cannot be shalem/whole or complete if one is in debt. Over the years I have certainly felt...
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The Wisdom of Destroying Worlds
In a year in which we’ve suffered so much loss, in which we’ve witnessed the destruction of so many worlds, this teaching calls on us to see ourselves in God’s image, to not only build worlds worthy of establishment but to destroy worlds that are not fit to stand.
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