“Satiety Leads to Rebellion”

The problem with taking my children to Disney World is that upon returning home, they kvetch about wanting to return to the Happiest Place on Earth. The thousands of junky Disney calories and hundreds of amusements lead my children and, I must ruefully confess, me, to “grow fat and kick”,” in the words of the...
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A Time for Realism, or a Time for Imagination?

For many of us, we anticipate that this week will be full of so much change and upheaval, fear and anger, anxiety and sadness, and hopefully also motivation and drive to act. So how do we respond in the face of great challenge? Our Israelite ancestors certainly faced some pretty trying circumstances, so what can...
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A Place in the Camp

In 2009, Rabbi Stephanie Kolin lobbied at the Massachusetts State House for transgender rights. In her testimony, she shared that she had led a trip to Israel and described the reaction of one of the participants when they arrived at the Kotel, which includes separate sections for men and women: He said through his tears,...
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Private Prisons, God’s People

A number of years ago my husband’s nephew suggested that we invest some funds with him in high-risk high-yield bonds. We did. After earning a good return, I asked my husband what his nephew had done with our money. He answered that his nephew, among other ventures, had invested in for-profit prisons. I was horrified....
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Silence Implicates Us

“The most urgent, the most disgraceful, the most shameful and the most tragic problem is silence.” These words were spoken by Rabbi Joachim Prinz, one of two Jews to speak at the March on Washington in 1963 alongside the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. Rabbi Prinz knew of which he spoke, having served the Jewish community...
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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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On Human Rights Day, Choosing to Remember

December 10 is International Human Rights Day, marking 70 years since the passage of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on December 10, 1948, seven months after the creation of the State of Israel and one day after the passage of the UN Convention on Genocide. When T’ruah was founded, back in 2002, Rabbi Gerry...
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