D'var Torah
Abolition, Abolition Shall You Pursue!
...justice comes in many forms. It is not, as many mistakenly think, mostly punishment and consequences.
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Dangerous Idols in Ancient Israel and Contemporary America
We do not celebrate the destruction of other people’s holy sites. Nonetheless, Moses had it right: Establishing a just society, as the Holy One commands, requires rooting out the symbols of evil.
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Trampling over the Torah
We should never assume our success is rubber-stamped or approved forever. Our actions can always be re-evaluated, and based on prophetic precedent, God tends to hold us to a higher standard of behavior than our neighbors, not a lower one.
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Returning from the Narrow Place
In our tradition, from any place on earth, even in a prison cell, there is always the possibility of teshuvah — a return.
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Turning our Backyards into Sanctuary Cities
...the Torah instructs that in the midst of our holiest cities and amongst people who do the work of God, that precisely there — in that place — are the vulnerable to take refuge.
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What “Women’s Rights” Should Mean
I would like to see us reclaim what women’s rights can mean – and note that our tradition supports our demand to be seen as fully human, however we identify.
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The Power of Bearing Witness
Balaam models being an independent and critical thinker... He refuses to stoke the hot coals of fear that demonize the other.
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“And the community was without water….”
Our Torah depicts what can happen to us in a world without water... Moses striking the rock to yield water is a vivid metaphor for the water-related violence that is breaking out all over our world — particularly in the Middle East, as well as in South Asia and Africa.
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Transformation Will Only Come Through Honesty About Our Past
Nowhere do we see God and the people in a real process of engagement with their history and what is broken in their relationship. With so much left unsaid and unresolved, we should not be surprised to see the same issues in their relationship emerging again and again.
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Quieting our Amygdalas
Of course, we are scared when faced with giants, or when we are fed terrifying misinformation. It is what we do with our fears and anxiety that is a key to Jewish spirituality.
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