(M)oral Torah
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Rosh Hashanah: An Accounting of the Soul
[These High Holy Days,] may we ask hard questions. May we see ourselves from both the throne of din and the throne of rachamim. And may we, steeped in self-compassion and God’s compassion, do better.
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Nitzavim: Interrogating the Society We Build
We must continuously strive to implement justice, as it is so easy to backslide when our attention and our resolve falter. Even during a time of war, when we are at our most vulnerable, we must still check ourselves to see if our conduct is as moral as possible.
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Ki Tavo: Torah That Lights a Fire
[The Torah] asks us to take seriously our power and ability to create change. It asks us to get off the couch, and to use the best of our spiritual and political wisdom to challenge the injustice of our time and transform the world.
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Ki Tetze: Honoring Creation & Being Good Allies
Our needs are not always primary. In fact, to be a good ally and a good steward of Creation, we must put the needs of others ahead of our own.
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Shoftim: The Imperfection of Justice
We all must work towards a more just society, understanding and accepting that we will never attain perfection.
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Re’eh: Are We a People Chosen by God?
Yeshayahu Leibowitz wrote, “The uniqueness of the People Israel is not a fact; it is a task. The holiness of Israel is not a reality but a role.” If Jews are to express some sense of being “treasured,” we need new religious perspectives recognizing everyone as created in God’s image.
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Ekev: When Our Leaders Gaslight Us
The world becomes more dangerous when leaders cannot be trusted and incontrovertible facts are subject to manipulation. Our responsibility, both as leaders and as citizens who elect them, is to value accountability.
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VaEt’chanan: Al HaMar VeHamatok: For These Things I Weep
We are not just meant to see the good land, but the whole of it, even what is hard to look at. And when we witness injustice, bitterness, and badness, we are meant to take up the sacred task of picking up the shattered pieces of destruction and building something good, building something worth gazing upon.
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Devarim: Moses’ Opening Rebuke: Choose Your Leaders Wisely
As we travel into the unknown wilderness of our shared future, may we clearly articulate what we need from our leadership and insist that we be led by wisdom, capable experience, and the commitment to equity for all.
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Together Toward Redemption: Matot-Masei and the Nine Days
The necessary work of teshuva cannot be completed by one individual alone. Rather, our mandate to uphold God’s name “in truth, in justice and in righteousness” can only be achieved through collective action.
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