In this moving sermon, Rabbi Gordon Tucker discusses the problem of modern slavery and describes his experience visiting sites from the African slave trade. SLAVERY THEN AND NOW Rabbi Gordon Tucker The Torah, in Leviticus 25:55, has God saying “The children of Israel are My servants”, and the rabbinic tradition afterwards added the following...
In this week’s Torah portion, we read the following words about the first Jew ever to set out for the land we call Israel: “V’Avraham zakein ba bayamim” – “Abraham was old, advanced in years.” Torah scholars point out that the phrase is redundant – if he’s old, we already know he’s advanced in years. ...
Jewish leaders need to be authoritative and steadfast in ensuring that September 11th and its commemorations do not provide annual pretense for rage against Muslims (and Sikhs and the countless others conflated with Muslims). Nor can we allow political opportunists to seize upon our unresolved grief and pain once again.
Commentary on Parshat Masei (Numbers 33:1 – 36:13) When I take my dog to the dog park, he loves to run from picnic table to picnic table and dive underneath them, seeking shade and safety. The picnic tables are a safe zone, a refuge, a sanctuary. Between 1980 and 1991, nearly one million Central Americans fled...
My step-daughter has a very distinctive sense of style, part Goth, part Emo, part anime, part steam-punk, part Asian, part her. She is also very petite, and finds it hard to find the clothes that she likes in her size. We recently realized that we can often find things that fit her if we order...
With the seders behind us, we are on our way to the Red Sea. But we’re not fully free yet. On the last day of Passover, according to tradition, we find ourselves trapped, with the Red Sea in front of us and Pharoah’s army closing in from behind. Moses tells us, “Have no fear! Stand...