Photo of the author, Rabbi Richard Ettelson, Ph.D

Ki Tavo: Fear Is the Barrier to Peace

We are strangers to others, and others are strangers to us.

Responsibility, Guilt, Teshuva

Sources and guiding questions to help inspire and support Jewich clergy as they bring the ethical teachings of our tradition to their communities this High Holiday season.

Download Changing the Conversation: A Resource for Israel and Palestine Education

An entry point for Jewish communities to engage with Israel and Palestine with depth, nuance, and care.

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The Torah of Repair and Reconciliation

by Rabbi Toba Spitzer
On its surface, Chayei Sarah is one of the tamer portions in all of the Torah. It is the only parasha in Genesis in which there is a complete absence of conflict and destruction. Yet there is an extremely rich subtext here, one that can be read in relation to the dramatic and disturbing events...
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As Israel Ages, Is It Coming Into Its Own?

by Rabbi Ken Chasen
In this week’s Torah portion, we read the following words about the first Jew ever to set out for the land we call Israel:  “V’Avraham zakein ba bayamim” – “Abraham was old, advanced in years.”  Torah scholars point out that the phrase is redundant – if he’s old, we already know he’s advanced in years. ...
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The Dead and the Living in Hebron

by Rabbi Emma Kippley-Ogman
For millennia, we Jews have been burying our dead outside the city limits, in caves, in fields and on hillsides. Just recently, for example, I stood with a crowd of people in a field, waiting to bury a friend, cousin, classmate, brother, son. Together we, the living, placed one of our own into the earth....
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