Free At Last?

“Maybe it’s time to move the museum displays to the side,” she said, “and get back to work.” That’s what one of my students said, and I couldn’t have been prouder. Recently, I had the privilege of journeying with members of our staff and teens from our congregation on a service/learning trip to New Orleans...
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The Trials and Tribulations of Paying Attention

Recently, I was with a group of students on an early morning nature walk. I tried to create a moment that I was hoping would be a different kind of prayer experience. Rather than read or chant through the prayers, we tried to experience them with the benefit of Mother Nature. It soon became clear...
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Sanctuary Cities: No Walk in the Dog Park

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...
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Year-in-Israel Program

***As of October 7, our in-person Israel programs are on hold. Rabbinical and cantorial students in Israel can check back here for updates.*** About the Year-in-Israel Program The T’ruah Year-in-Israel Program offers rabbinical and cantorial students spending the academic year in Israel the opportunity to develop their moral voice on human rights issues in Israel...
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A Q&A with Charlottesville’s Rabbi Tom Gutherz and Rabbi Rachel Schmelkin

On Aug. 12, 2017 Rabbi Tom Gutherz and Rabbi Rachel Schmelkin of Charlottesville’s Congregation Beth Israel — the city’s only synagogue — confronted a nightmare in their backyard: the horrifying Unite the Right Nazi rally. T’ruah was the only major national Jewish organization with a presence at the counter-protests that day. T’ruah honored both rabbis...
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We’re here for you

March 20, 2020 We’re about to enter Shabbat on what, for many of us, was our first full week staying at home, as we collectively try to slow the pace of this terrifying pandemic. I’m thinking of those of you who are coping with your own illnesses or those of family and friends. And, of...
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A personal note in the midst of COVID-19

March 13, 2020 I’m writing first to send love and good wishes to everyone in the T’ruah community. I know that all of us are feeling a heightened sense of anxiety as we hunker down at home, quarantine ourselves, cope with our own illnesses or those of friends and family, and mourn the chance to...
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Ending Solitary Confinement

JUMP TO: Current Campaigns Why Jews Should Oppose Solitary Confinement It is not good for a human to be alone. —Genesis 2:18 Either companionship or death. —Babylonian Talmud Ta’anit 23a Current Campaigns National T’ruah endorses the historic End Solitary Confinement Act, introduced by Congresswoman Cori Bush (MO-01) (alongside Representatives Jamaal Bowman, Ed.D. (NY-16), Adriano Espaillat...
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