Tisha B’Av is a challenging holiday for me in a number of ways. According to Jewish tradition, Tisha B’Av (“the ninth of Av”) is a day of mourning in observance of the destruction of the ancient Temples in Jerusalem and other calamities that have struck the Jewish people over the centuries. It is observed by … More Tisha B’Av: Teaching the Past to Save the Future
A brief note: I know I have been posting less frequently in recent times, as I have also been exploring different media. I have been putting many of my thoughts and teachings in video form on TikTok, Instagram and Facebook as of late, so you can find me there as well. Sometimes we need to … More Time for Something New?
I, like many others, especially in the Jewish community, are reeling from this morning’s decision from the Supreme Court: the 50-year-precendent Roe v. Wade was overturned, eviscerating an established constitutional right and allowing government to exert control of bodily autonomy. Today is a day filled with sadness and rage. The conservative long-game has won. Donald … More On the Overturning of Roe v. Wade: It’s the Men
I will admit, the first portion of the book of Numbers, Bamidbar, is a little tough to sink one’s teeth into. In preparation for the journey into the wilderness, God asks Moses to conduct a census of the Israelites. Much of the portion is the census numbers of those who make up the community. In … More Raise Your Banner and Be Who You Are
If you can not go to school without the fear of being shot, then you are not free. If you can’t leave your job because you will lose your health insurance, then you are not free. If you choose not to seek medical help because you are afraid of getting high bills, then you are … More Is America the Land of the Free?
Land management and economic justice are subjects of this week’s Torah portion Behar. We are first told that after six years of being cultivated, land is to rest and lie fallow during the seventh year in order to be renewed; this is the practice known as shmita. And then we are to count seven seven-year … More This Land is God’s Land
I was honored to speak at a gathering and demonstration to pressure Washington State leadership to remove the dams on the lower Snake River, thus freeing salmon runs and promoting a better relationship with our land. These are the words I shared. Shabbat Shalom. Thank you, it is an honor to be here today to … More Save our Sacred Salmon
I delivered this d’var Torah at the 2022 Annual Meeting of the Reconstrucionist Rabbinical Association on March 6, 2022. Thank you for this opportunity and this honor, and so good to be with colleagues today. We have just passed Rosh Chodesh Adar 2, since this year being a leap year in which we add an … More From Purim to Passover: “Juxtaposing Redemptions is Preferred”
As we come upon the two year anniversary of the Covid pandemic, I am, for the first time, by desire and necessity, taking a step back from my work at my congregation. Suffice it to say, I know that we are all hurting from this time. It has not been easy. And I do not … More Time to Lie Fallow
Rabbi 360 