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...
read more

True Shalom for Planet Earth

“‘Shalom! Shalom!’ (They say.) But there is no Shalom.” (Jeremiah 6:14) The prophet Jeremiah lambasted the leaders of Jerusalem for declaring that everything was well and for making light of the very real dangers he perceived. Of course, they didn’t listen. The role of prophet seems designed for frustration. A prophet (1) calls out foreseeable disaster;...
read more

Leviticus: The Tipping Point Towards Action

Why was the book of Leviticus placed in the center of Torah? You know that there had to be other options. We all feel the shift. Left on the cliff-hanger at the end of Exodus, we spend 8-10 weeks with nary a hint of narrative. It’s as if the Torah lifts us out of time...
read more

Cleaning up the mess together

One of my favorite programs at my synagogue is our B’nei Mitzvah family retreat. At the beginning of the summer, we take our incoming seventh grade families to camp for the weekend. It’s remarkable: relationships between kids change, parents get to know each other, and, after the Bar or Bat Mitzvah, we keep most of...
read more

Be the Window

The window – where the dove returns with an olive branch –  is about hope and connection. The window is an escape from the crushing waves of the endless news cycle of fear and violence. The window is a possibility of change – of redemption.
read more

Rosh Pinna: Keystone of Justice

I am standing by a pristine mountain stream at 10,000 ft. in the Wind River Range in Wyoming and sobbing. My hiking partner Ed, whose family has been here for hundreds of years, has just said to me that the land belongs to me as much as it does to him. That was nearly 40...
read more

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...
read more

Power and Transformation

The intersection of Parshat Miketz and Hanukah invites us to reflect on two different ways in which transformational impact can be effected, and the importance of understanding the nuances of each. We see two drastically different models of power and change in these stories.  In Miketz, Joseph—an Israelite foreigner in Egypt who, by happenstance, is granted an...
read more

Sign up for updates and action alerts