Resources
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Rosh Pinna: Keystone of Justice
I am standing by a pristine mountain stream at 10,000 ft. in the Wind River Range in Wyoming and sobbing. My hiking partner Ed, whose family has been here for hundreds of years, has just said to me that the land belongs to me as much as it does to him. That was nearly 40...
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Mi Sheberach for Survivors of Human Trafficking
A prayer for survivors of human trafficking that can be said during the Torah service, after the prayer (Mi Sheberach) for healing.
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Release and Hold Harmless Agreement
All participation in T’ruah programs in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories is governed by this “Release, Indemnification, and Hold Harmless Agreement.” By signing up for a program, participants have agreed to accept these terms. A link to this document is always provided during the registration process.
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On That Day
“Our God and God of our ancestors: in Your glory, rule over the entire universe; in Your splendor, be exalted over all the earth; in the majestic beauty of Your overwhelming presence, appear to all the inhabitants of Your world. Then, all that You have made will recognize You as their maker, all that You...
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T’shuvah, Hope and the Struggle for Justice
It’s hard to hope for peace these days. The ceasefire in Gaza holds but there is no political breakthrough; President Obama has just announced a new and complex military action against a brutal enemy in Iraq and Syria; Ukraine is bleeding, and anti-Semitism in Europe has turned ugly and violent. Here at home, the suburbs...
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How I Met My Kohelet
“‘Absurdity of absurdities,’ said Kohelet, ‘Absurdity of absurdities. It’s all absurd’”1 (Koh. 1:2). These are the first words that we hear from Kohelet, the son of King David whose philosophical musings we read during Sukkot. Kohelet is arguably the most cynical book in Tanakh. There is not much hope, there is not much joy, there...
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Genesis and Gender
Chapter one of Breshit presents an account of creation that provides the ontological foundation for human rights. God creates human beings in the divine image. And having done so, God proclaims that the entire creation is “very good.” The great Hasidic teacher the Kedushat Levi, riffing on the line in the morning prayer “yotzer or...
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The Fishpond
My in-laws have a koi pond in their backyard. When we visited them over Sukkot, my son Barzilai—a year and three quarters old—fell in love with it. “Peepch!” he said all weekend—wonderingly, demandingly, enthusiastically—as he dragged me to the pond’s edge to peer into it; “Peepch! Mahm! [Fish! Mayim!]” This was not the first time...
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“The Part About The Stars”
The girl who will become bat mitzvah in my shul on Parshat Lech Lecha has noted that her special day falls a week before the anniversary of Kristallnacht, which members of her family witnessed. So she requested I let her leyn her portion from the Czech “Shoah” scroll in our ark. Those who possess such...
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Klinghoffer and Me
Last week, my worlds collided. I once trained as an opera singer, and though I have traded Gluck for gemara, I remain a fervent supporter of the arts. I have a weekly appointment that brings me within a block of the Metropolitan Opera House, at Lincoln Center, and I often stroll through the plaza, admiring...
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