Photo of the author, Rabbi Toba Spitzer

Pesach: No One Is Free Until All Are Free

How can we take on our own “marking of the doorposts” for this moment? What am I prepared to do, or say, to help bring this cursed war to an end? How might I “mark” myself as someone committed to the collective liberation of Palestinians and Israelis?
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Behar: Getting from Here to There

We are returning from the mountain to the plains; from our highest ideals to the practicalities of daily living; from the most fundamental expression of holiness to where we are now.
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Photo of the author, Rabbi Aaron Leven

Shmini: “Aaron was Silent”

Real intimacy — with the Divine and with each other — is an ability to say I will show up, but only if I can demand that when there is destruction there is rebuilding, when there is grief there is space to mourn, when there is heartbreak there is space for healing.
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Headshot of Rabbi Allan Berkowitz

Terumah: How Much is a Human Being Worth?

Theologically speaking, to be human is to be sacred. Full stop. During human engagement, when we remain mindful of the sanctity of the other person, we bring acknowledgment of our shared holiness and further elevate the other and ourselves.
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Fostering an Equitable Urban Landscape

In Parshat Behar, urban spaces were not considered a factor in the wellness and stability of society. Today, we must acknowledge our centuries of disenfranchisement and commit to fostering an urban landscape of equity and opportunity.
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“And the community was without water….”

Our Torah depicts what can happen to us in a world without water... Moses striking the rock to yield water is a vivid metaphor for the water-related violence that is breaking out all over our world — particularly in the Middle East, as well as in South Asia and Africa.
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Finding the Roots of Our Neighbor’s Home

The al-Walaja olive tree is one of the oldest trees in the world... Today, as it bears fruit for this generation of residents, it also bears witness to the State of Israel demolishing the homes of some of those residents.
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