Rabbi Margo Hughes-Robinson

Beshalach: No More Solitary Confinement in NYC

There is a deep and abiding power in saying to those who have died as a result of solitary confinement. We cannot bring back those we lost, but we can sanctify their memories by continuing to fight for a city that is dedicated to human rights for all.
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Rabbi Jeremy Kridel

Chayei Sara: Calling Politicians to the City Gate this Election Day

“All politics is local.” That phrase was associated with the late U.S. Congressman and former Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill. This week features an Election Day. With so much of our attention focused on Israel and Gaza, we might be tempted to miss all the local and state elections happening this week. As if...
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Hope and a Listening Ear

I have now heard the moaning of the Israelites because the Egyptians are holding them in bondage, and I have remembered My covenant. (Exodus 6:5) It seems these days I have an endless array of guest speakers in my congregation: about the Syrian refugee crisis, about the death penalty, about homelessness, about the violence fraying...
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From Furious to Curious

I wonder how the story would have unfolded if God had been curious rather than furious, and if when Moses came down from the mountain and witnessed the dancing, he had been able to pause and observe, noticing the feelings arising and waiting to respond until his anger had quieted down. Was it reasonable to expect these newly freed slaves, who were just beginning to experiment with their sense of autonomy, to simply wait patiently for Moses to return? 
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No More Sarahs

Last April, I traveled to Washington D.C. to visit my son at college. Georgetown University is a great place and, by all accounts, safe. We were in the bookstore when, suddenly, the entire student center was on lockdown. A policeman explained that the night before two students had been robbed at gunpoint outside the business...
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Julie Fishbach

Julie Fishbach (she/her) is a rabbinical student at Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion, expecting ordination in 2026. She grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she worked as a counselor and Program Director at Camp Tawonga. She studied Sociocultural Anthropology and Theater at UC San Diego, and completed coursework in...
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Rabbi Salem Pearce

Salem received her rabbinic ordination from Hebrew College Rabbinical School in Boston, Mass. During her time there, she has served as the rabbinic intern at Nehar Shalom Community Synagogue and at the Synagogue Council of Massachusetts, and she was the Community Organizer at Temple Israel of Boston. She was also a mikveh guide at Mayyim Hayyim Living Waters Community...
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Andrew Oberstein

Andrew Oberstein is a rabbinical student at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, where he is a Wexner Graduate Fellow. He previously served as the Director of Jewish Life at URJ Six Points Sci-Tech Academy in Byfield, MA. Before entering rabbinical school, Andrew was the Coordinator for Social Justice and Young Adult Engagement at Temple...
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Rabbi Laura J. Abrasley

Rabbi Laura  J. Abrasley joined the Temple Shalom clergy team in July 2015. She grew up in Houston and graduated from Texas A&M University with a degree in psychology. Her path to becoming a rabbi began with many summers spent as a camper and then counselor at the URJ Greene Family Camp in Texas. After...
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