FAQ About Weakening Democracy in Israel

This two-pager FAQ addresses the Nation-State Law and other legislation passed by the Knesset this summer that weakens Israel’s democratic institutions. It is followed by two pages of quotations from classical and contemporary Zionist thinkers and leaders that remind us of how important democracy is to Zionism. Included in the FAQ are links to more...
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The Human Right to Have a Child

Commentary on Rosh Hashanah Torah and Haftarah readings. Reproductive rights have been hijacked. When someone mentions the phrase “reproductive rights,” the first things that usually come to mind are either birth control or abortion. However, the ability to prevent pregnancy is only part of reproductive rights. What about the right to have a child? This...
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Are Scepters Only for Boys? (Purim)

Commentary on the Book of Esther.  “Oh, there’s no such thing as boy things and girl things. It’s just whatever you like.” Such was my 7-year-old son’s gently delivered and matter-of-fact response when another child firmly told him that flowers and hearts are “girl things.” Faced with the notion that gender is a binary (there...
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Every Last One of Us

Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg opens Torah 20/20, a year of divrei torah dedicated to the discussion of democracy, with Parshat Bereshit.
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Where we go from here

A d’var Torah for Pesach by T’ruah rabbinic intern Frankie Sandmel and Dr. Abdul El-Sayed. This d’var Torah is based on Dr. El-Sayed’s remarks on the T’ruah webinar on March 18, 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic will, without doubt, be at the center of all our Passovers. No matter how you mark the holiday, the impact...
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The Problem with Korach is the Problem with “All Lives Matter”

Both of Korach’s challenges have the same structure. Korach rejects the notion that something small— either tzitzit or mezuzah—could be more important than something big. In opposing tzitzit to a blue tallit and mezuzah to a houseful of scrolls, the midrash picks up on Korach’s tactic of putting Moses and Aaron in opposition to “all of the community.” Korach invokes the whole, promoting the general over the specific, the greater over the lesser. He fails to recognize that in Torah, the detailed particulars make all the difference. In the realm of ritual as in the domain of justice, the demands of righteousness are precise. 
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The World as It Is and the World as It Should Be

"As an organizer who encourages people to march for justice and bring their activism to the streets, I often get asked if the signs and slogans of protests are unrealistic, or would turn people away with their seemingly out of reach demands and strong language."
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Looking backward, looking forward: A year of Torah 20/20

A d’var Torah for Simchat Torah. Rabbi Avi Katz Orlow is the Vice President at the Foundation for Jewish Camp. He has a deep love of irreverent, relevant, and revealing Torah and blogs religiously at saidtomyself.com. Rabbi Lev Meirowitz Nelson is Director of Rabbinic Training at T’ruah and the editor of Torah 20/20.   Rabbi...
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Land, People, God: What Really Defines the Jews?

In our own time and place, we are wise to recognize the danger of allowing any single land to confer sanctity on any single people. Abram’s comings, going, and sojournings remind us that it is the covenantal blessing of our community that holds us together, regardless of where we came from or how we got there.
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