Democracy Resources

Purim Reminds Us Rights Shouldn’t Be Tied to the Whims of Rulers

A D’var Torah for Purim by Rabbi Micah Buck-Yael As a Queer and Trans Jew, Purim has long held a special place in my heart as a holiday that envisions a world in which oppression can be turned upside down, in which coming out can be liberatory and world-changing, and miracles come to life through...

Photo of the author, Rabbi Tova Leibovic-Douglas

Rosh Chodesh Adar: Turning Grief to Joy as Resistance

Adar is a month that invites us into an ancient, collective experience. It calls us to cultivate joy, even when we do not feel it naturally. Our ancestors knew there would be Adars when joy was hard to find, yet they committed themselves to honor the spirit of the month, to dare to seek joy even in the hardest times.

Capitol Building at sunset

“May We Create a Nation”: A New Prayer for Our Country

From Rabbi Seth Goldstein: We know that this is a nation founded by massacre, built by slavery, maintained by exclusion, defined by inequality. And we also know that this nation promises equality, exercises resilience, evolves continuously, practices teshuvah.

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Why is the Torah So Silent About Prisons?

by Rabbi Greg Hersh
The Torah commands us to be a nation of priests and to make the earth a place for God to dwell. And it’s not possible to do that from behind bars.
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From Crisis to Community: Reading Martin Buber in the time of Social Distancing

by Rabbi Bill Plevan
More than a century ago, Martin Buber worried about a crisis in modern life: how would increased alienation and “social distance” of modern societies affect the well-being of humanity? Both in his writings on the notion of dialogue and his writings on Judaism, Buber speaks about the spiritual dimension of human relationships as the basis...
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The Essence of Being a Jew

by Rabbi Mari Chernow
That’s Kedoshim’s point – that those of us who own land (and its modern equivalent, a bank account) have an undeniable responsibility to support those who don’t. 
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Using the Right Tools

by Rabbi Max Edwards
This is as relevant for us today as it was in the Ramban’s time: That which we consume has the power to consume us. There’s nothing today we consume more than media.
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Awakening the World With Love

by Cantor Dara Rosenblatt
‘I was asleep, but my heart was wakeful.’ The first part of this verse is a call. ...Within myself there is something to be awakened.
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Finding Our Agency When Water is at Our Necks

by Rabbi Daniel G. Zemel
Passover’s story reminds us to see ourselves as newly freed slaves. The Nachshon story invites us to see ourselves as agents of miracles.
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“Pour Out Your Wrath” Haggadah Supplement

by Rabbi Lev Meirowitz Nelson and Bennett Decker
Download our 2022 Haggadah Supplement here!
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Unlearning the Tzara’at from Our Walls

by Rabbi Melanie Aron
The Kli Yakar (16th century, Prague)... says that it is this stinginess that brings “tzara’at of houses,” that our refusal to share is what will ultimately destroy our homes and society.
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Lift Your Head

by Rabbi Barbara Symons
The haftarah in the guise of Naaman says that one need not be defined by tzara’at – or, we add, any aspect of ourselves by which others define us, as though we are unidimensional.
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How Ritual Grounds Us For Activism

by Rabbi Jessica Shimberg
Without the structure of community and the grounding of ritual, my action, based on the heat of my emotions, would be like a wildfire rather than a well-tended altar.
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