Using the Right Tools

This is as relevant for us today as it was in the Ramban’s time: That which we consume has the power to consume us. There’s nothing today we consume more than media.
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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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Is there comfort after such pain?

People experience the deep pain at different times: when a personal tragedy or loss shakes us to our core. When an eye opening experience shocks us into reassessing reality. When we recognize that truths we held as self-evident were not shared by others. For many, in both political parties, the world fell apart (again) during...
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Letters from the U.S.-Mexico Border

T’ruah, together with our friends from HIAS, the global Jewish nonprofit that protects refugees, has brought over 100 rabbis and cantors to the United States-Mexico border to bear witness to the humanitarian crisis there. Standing amid so much suffering and injustice was difficult, but we were heartened to meet many heroic activists working to help...
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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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Mikdash: A Jewish Guide to the New Sanctuary Movement

T’ruah’s complete Jewish guide to the New Sanctuary Movement is here in a revised and expanded edition! This resource includes: Background information on sanctuary and immigration, placing them in the larger context of white nationalism and America’s history with immigration Concrete steps to take An original essay grounding sanctuary work in Jewish tradition and text...
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Emerging from the Darkness into the Light

A D’var Torah by Rabbi Nancy Wiener for Parshat Bo The rabbis teach that, at the dawning of a new day, we must wait to begin our morning prayers until we can recognize another’s face in the distance. In this inaugural week, we can now see faces that reflect our nation’s diversity in the House...
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