Texts and Resources for Tisha B’Av: Jews Say Free Them All

Prayer for Tisha B’Av Actions A prayer by Rabbi Mónica Gomery designed to be read preceding or following the sounding of the shofar at a collective protest on Tisha B’Av. The use of this resource has helped unify Tisha B’Av events across the country. T’ruah’s Past Tisha B’Av Divrei Torah Commentaries by Rabbis Edward C. Bernstein, Ruhi Sophia...
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Rabbi Laurie Franklin

Mishpatim: Mishpatim in Montana

Mishpatim teaches that formal justice must be free of influence from bribes or wealth status, and that even the stranger deserves protection. In my home state of Montana, regressive laws recently passed in our 2023 state legislature have revoked rights and freedoms from Montana residents under the guise of “protection” and “freedom of speech."
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The Audacious Yehudah

As a concerned young adult living in Bangkok, I tried to make sense of the brokenness around me by doing volunteer work with like-minded meditation practitioners. Following the social action trail, we found ourselves in one of the many refugee villages along the Laotian/Thai border that continued to exist in the decade after the fall...
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The Finest That We Have To Offer (Parshat Tetzaveh)

Commentary on Parshat Tetzaveh (Exodus 27:20 – 30:10) In religious and spiritual communities, I am often asked to “shed layers” — that is, to dig deep into my soul, discerning what truly matters and letting go of the rest. There is a sense that spiritual connection has to do with getting rid of the extra...
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An Echo of Shofar

At the end of June, my husband and I took our daughter, Zohar, to Harrisburg. She was six months old at the time. We each put on a tallit (the baby’s was a black onesie screen-printed with an image of a tallit) and gathered in a tent on the Capitol steps along with rabbis, cantors...
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Our Best Leaders May Be Those with the Least Power

A d’var Torah for Parshat Beha’alotecha by Matt Nosanchuk.  Leadership lies at the center of our Jewish communal discourse, and rightfully so. Through tough times biblical, historical, and present, Jews have relied on a wide range of leaders, including patriarchs and matriarchs, kings and queens, prophets and prime ministers, soldiers and scholars, and, of course,...
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