D'var Torah

A d’var Torah on Shabbat Nachamu Clarence Office, Jr., of Miami, FL, served in the U.S. Army for three years in the 1970s and was honorably discharged. Like many veterans, Clarence tragically fell into drug use and was arrested for drug offenses. He served a prison term and paid his debt to society. Clarence now...

Tisha B’Av reminds us: You know what this awful pain feels like. First, every year, we are supposed to practice feeling the excruciating dissonance between the way things are and the way they should be. We have to feel the deep outrage and pain of the crying mother. But we must also be Rachel, weeping not only for her children, but naming the more compassionate way of being that we know, that we remember is possible.

Rabbi Arielle Lekach-Rosenberg reflects on her visit to the San Diego-Tijuana border with T'ruah and HIAS.

Rabbi David Ackerman on Pinchas' two distinct visions of leadership, and two sharply divergent paradigms of proper behavior on the part of a leader.

Rabbi Eli Herb writes about Pinchas' zealotry.

For Parshat Chukat, Rabbi Benjamin Barnett writes about the challenges facing Israel's Bedouin.

Conflict is an element of leadership. As the ultimate example of rebellion among the Israelites the core question is this: How are we to deal with conflict when — not if — it arises?

Rabbi Faith Joy Dantowitz writes about Parshat Sh'lach-Lecha.

We all crave food – but equally, we crave the dignity of being able to choose what, how and where we eat.

Our commandments are meant to inspire us to action.