D'var Torah
Ha’Azinu: Learning From Our Ancestors with Humility and Chutzpah
We find that we have to learn from our ancestors with a dual dose of humility and chutzpah: both to learn from their wisdom, and also to transcend their limitations.
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Rosh Hashanah: Teshuvah, Tefilah, and Tzedakah in Israel
'On Rosh Hashanah, it is written and on Yom Kippur, it is sealed: How many will die and how many will be born? Who will live and who will die?' This is one of the most beloved and troubling of Rosh Hashanah prayers. But such is the power of great poetry.
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Nitzavim-Vayeilech: To Examine the Past Unflinchingly, We Need Community
Looking back can be terrifying. We are further protected by being a part of the covenantal community, thus we can look back safely, unflinchingly, to the very real horrors that have shaped our communities and our lives.
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Ki Tavo: Inscribing Ourselves with Love During National Recovery Month
What is the Torah inscribed on our lands and in our hearts? What Torah do we bring with us into a new land?
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Ki Tetze: We Cannot Look Away
You may be familiar with the notion about the wounded healer, popularized by the author Henri Nouwen in his book by that name. He asserts: “When we become aware that we do not have to escape our pains, but that we can mobilize them into a common search for life, those very pains are transformed...
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Israel Resources for Clergy: High Holidays 5784
Resources for Jewish clergy preparing to talk and teach about Israel on the High Holidays.
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Shoftim: “Thus Blood of the Innocent Will not be Shed” The Necessity of Sanctuary
A self-proclaimed “melting pot,” a country that declared its independence by asserting that all men are created equal, should continue to be a sanctuary and refuge.
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Re’eh: Open Your Hand and Lend Enough
God entrusts us, flawed mortal beings as we are, with the responsibility to figure it out and take care of each other.
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Ekev: Seeking a Greater Wholeness Through Civilian Oversight
It is indisputable that there is serious, ongoing, and systemic racism in the institution of American law enforcement.
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Shabbat Hazon: Massachusetts Reimagining Communities Sermon & Study Toolkit
T'ruah invites Massachusetts clergy to use this toolkit as a way to connect the decarceration of women and girls in the Commonwealth with Shabbat Hazon.
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