Weak Eyes

As Jacob meets Rachel and Leah, the text shares a rare visual description of both women. We learn that Rachel is beautiful and Leah’s eyes are “weak.” The word describing Leah’s eyes, “rakot,” can also be translated as tender, soft, or gentle. It is difficult to determine if Leah’s eyes are an impairment or a...
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Technicalities, Flames, and Democracy

Before I was a rabbi, I was a lawyer. Most of my legal career was spent assessing almost-inevitably doomed appeals. These were often criminal cases based upon what are popularly called “technicalities.” That work came back to me when I read the story of Nadav and Avihu, to which we return again this week in parshat...
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Justice Delayed Is Justice Denied

A D’var Torah for Parshat Vayeshev by Rabbi Jeremy Kridel “And I — where am I to go!?” (Gen. 37:30, trans. Everett Fox) Thus Reuben, the eldest of Jacob’s sons, cries out after Joseph is taken into slavery in Parshat Vayeshev, sold during Reuben’s absence. A closer look at Reuben’s story reminds us: Justice delayed...
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How to Make Our Racial Equity Commitments Endure

Listening to (the shofar's) blasts, we hold so many good intentions about the year to come... That is why the robust structures for anti-racism work... are so important. They give us a path to walk, a process to follow, and so they seek to avoid backsliding into complacency.
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U.S. Fellows

The T’ruah Rabbinical and Cantorial Student Summer Fellowship in Human Rights offers a select cohort of rabbinical/cantorial students an eight week experience working in a human rights/social justice organization in New York, learning about human rights in Jewish text and tradition, and gaining the skills to be human rights leaders in your own communities. Learn...
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“What Is That In Your Hand?”

Alone in the desert, a comfortable Moses is shepherding his flock when he is captivated by flames burning in the distance. Approaching with caution, the Torah tells us that Moses simply cannot turn away from the burning bush. As he moves closer and closer, God calls out to him, and he responds with a single...
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