Photo of the author, Rabbi Sarah Weissman

Ki Tetze: Safety and Dignity for All Workers

The Torah teaches us that we have a special duty, not only to avoid exploiting, but to actively care for the poorest and most vulnerable in our communities. As we celebrate Labor Day, let us do all we can to ensure that every person [especially immigrant workers] can live and work in safety and dignity.

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.

Changing the Conversation: A Resource for Israel and Palestine Education

Want to read this resource as a pdf? Download here. What is this resource? In this moment of heartbreak, overwhelm, and moral reckoning, many of us are searching for ways to have authentic conversations about the realities on the ground in Israel and Palestine. So many in our communities are yearning to connect with people...

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Where we go from here

by Frankie Sandmel and Dr. Abdul El-Sayed
A d’var Torah for Pesach by T’ruah rabbinic intern Frankie Sandmel and Dr. Abdul El-Sayed. This d’var Torah is based on Dr. El-Sayed’s remarks on the T’ruah webinar on March 18, 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic will, without doubt, be at the center of all our Passovers. No matter how you mark the holiday, the impact...
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COVID-19 Seder Supplement

by Rabbi Lev Meirowitz Nelson et al
The supplement offers a discussion activity for the Four Children and a reading to deepen the significance of opening the door for Elijah.
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The Sacrificial Artform

by Ruby Namdar
In this d'var Torah for Parshat Tzav, novelist Ruby Namdar reflects on the power of sacrifice and sacrificial imagery.
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Everybody Hurts: Learning from Leviticus to Reclaim Public Ritual Repentance

by Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie
In this d'var Torah for Parshat Vayikra, Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie examines our ancient tools for healing transgressions.
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And they Assembled

by Rabbi Tamara Cohen
A prayer for Shabbat Vayakhel-Pekudei 2020 in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Restoring the Dignity of Refugees Should Be Part of Living in a Democracy

by Sabrina Lustgarten
Sabrina Lustgarten, Country Director for HIAS in Ecuador, writes that Parshat Vayakhel emphasizes "the importance of harmonizing wills to achieve a common good."
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What’s So Bad About the Golden Calf?

by Daniel Handler
In this d'var Torah for Parshat Ki Tisa, Daniel Handler struggles with symbols that become more important than morals.
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Prayer for Healing During COVID-19

by Rabbi Guy Austrian
Harachaman, Compassionate One, You are “rofeh chol basar umafli la’asot,” healer of bodies, who does wondrous deeds. The wondrous bodies that You have made for us now feel more fragile. The openings by which we perceive Your world now feel more vulnerable. We are anxious and frightened by the uncertainty of what is to come....
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Great Leaders Know When To Step Back

by Maharat Rori Picker Neiss
Parshat Tetzaveh is perhaps most noteworthy in the Torah for what it lacks: any mention of the name of Moses.
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When We Make Art Together, We Dream a Better World Into Existence

by Caroline Rothstein
A d’var Torah for Terumah (Ex.25:1-27:19) by Caroline Rothstein.  I am an artist. That’s been my identity, purpose, and path since I was three years old and slid on ballet shoes to dance across a recital stage. Then came poetry. And nonfiction prose. Then came singing, acting, musical theater, jazz and modern and hip-hop dance,...
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