Resources

Living by Our Values
Commentary on Parshat Acharei Mot (Leviticus 16:1 – 18:30) When my pluralistic Jewish school’s 11th- and 12th-grade students visited a nearby Roman Catholic school for our annual “Friends in Faith” program, they finished the icebreakers and the lively Quiz Bowl game, and then they walked towards the chapel for a mid-morning visit and explanation of...
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Fearing G-d Means Giving No Platform to White Supremacy
With the seders behind us, we are on our way to the Red Sea. But we’re not fully free yet. On the last day of Passover, according to tradition, we find ourselves trapped, with the Red Sea in front of us and Pharoah’s army closing in from behind. Moses tells us, “Have no fear! Stand...
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The Scars of Getting Free
Many years ago I was a guest at a seder in Jerusalem. Around the table, in classic Yerushalmi (Jerusalemite) style, was a sampling of all the typical residents and tourists. Some were American, some native Israelis, some Yemenite immigrants, some religious, some heretics, some crazy. Old, young, and in between. It was a lively scene,...
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Reaching Past Our Boundaries
Commentary on Parshat Metzora (Leviticus 14:1 – 15:33) One of the most powerful experiences I had during my rabbinic training was serving as a hospital chaplain. I practiced chaplaincy with a group of five other people on the path to becoming clergy of various faiths, and we were trained by a supervisor – an ordained...
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Resisting Tyrants Seder Supplement
A supplemental reading and discussion prompts for your Passover seder, as you retell the story of our slavery in Egypt. We recommend you download and print this beautifully designed PDF in full color, but you can also scroll down for the full text. Our oppression in Egypt was the...
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Elijah’s Covenant Between the Generations
Commentary for Shabbat HaChodesh and Shabbat HaGadol This coming Shabbat is Rosh Chodesh Nissan, which means the clock is ticking for Pesach’s arrival. The following Shabbat, we will read as Haftarah the very last passage of the last of the classical Hebrew Prophets: Chapter 3 of “Malachi.” We name the day “Shabbat Hagadol” – referring...
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Addiction: The Strange Fire in Our Midst
Commentary on Parshat Shmini (Leviticus 9:1 – 11:47) What happens when the gift we want to offer isn’t accepted? Why do our efforts to be holy sometimes have tragic consequences? Our Torah reading celebrates the completion of the Mishkan, the Tabernacle built to be God’s dwelling place amongst the people. Precise instructions have been followed,...
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On Not Attending Prime Minister Netanyahu’s AIPAC Speech: Jewish Sources and Analysis
T’ruah, a network of more than 2,000 rabbis and cantors across the U.S. and Canada, calls on AIPAC attendees not to attend the speech by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as Jewish law prohibits speaking and listening to lashon hara (evil speech), consorting with evildoers, and swaying a court case. Netanyahu regularly engages in speech that...
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Are Scepters Only for Boys? (Purim)
Commentary on the Book of Esther. “Oh, there’s no such thing as boy things and girl things. It’s just whatever you like.” Such was my 7-year-old son’s gently delivered and matter-of-fact response when another child firmly told him that flowers and hearts are “girl things.” Faced with the notion that gender is a binary (there...
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Memory — Defining Our Communities (Shabbat Zachor)
Commentary on the Torah reading for Shabbat Zachor (Deuteronomy 25:17-19) “We’re all in this thing together Walkin’ the line between faith and fear This life don’t last forever When you cry I taste the salt in your tears” —Old Crow Medicine Show Memory is at the very core of our identities. Jewish memory is both...
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