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The Verse from the Book of Esther that is Giving Me Hope
Today is Purim, when we read the story of the biblical Book of Esther, also called megillat Esther, the scroll of Esther. It tells the story of Esther who, after initially hiding her Jewish identity, uses her proximity to power to subvert a plan to eliminate the Jewish population of the Persian Empire. The story…
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Warning Bells
Having discussed sacred structures in last week’s portion, the Torah this week turns to sacred fashion. After elaborately describing the materials and construction of the Tabernacle, the portable building that is to serve as the worship space and community center for the Israelites as they make their way through the desert, the Torah describes the…
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Safety is the Way to Holiness
“Make me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them” These are the powerful words in the Torah this week that precedes a lengthy description of the Tabernacle, both the raw materials needed and the design for this structure. The Tabernacle will serve as the center for the Israelites in their journey to the Promised…
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A Jewish Prayer for Day of Remembrance
On this Day of Remembrance, We commemorate the Japanese interment We remember the 120,000 taken from their homes And placed in detention For no other reason than their heritage and identity. As Jews, we know what it is like to be Removed from our communities Stripped of our possessions Exiled to camps Treated as other…
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Our Pain Threshold
The thing about redheads is that we have a lower threshold for pain. Growing up, though I was not as brightly redheaded as others, people remarked about my “strawberry blond” hair, especially compared to my darker-haired parents and sister. It was a trait I inherited through my mother’s mother’s line. As I got older, my…
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The Torah of Monty (or What We Can Learn from Dog Shows)
Monty the Giant Schnauzer won “Best in Show” at the Westminster Dog Show this past week, the preeminent dog competition. He is thus the top dog for the coming year. A number of years ago, I wrote about the spiritual lessons from dog shows, and I feel compelled to write about them again. At Westminster…
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The Jewish Value to Guide our Protest
There is a pretty clear reason from our tradition as to why we as Jews should be rising up and opposing much of what the Trump Administration is doing right now. And while there are a number of principles that can guide us at this moment–creating peace, pursuing justice, welcoming the stranger–the high value that…
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The Famous Torah Verse You are Remembering Wrong, and What It Can Teach Us For This Moment
The famous story of the Exodus is what we are reading in the Torah this week, as Moses confronts Pharaoh to demand the liberation of the Israelites. After having been called by God at the Burning Bush, Moses joins with his brother Aaron to demand the release of their people from slavery. Each time they…
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Venn Activism
Since the election two months ago, I’ve been thinking about how we need to show up and respond. There is a lot of work ahead of us to try to achieve the outcomes we want to see and oppose the outcomes we don’t want to see, in light of an administration that many of us…
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Rabbi 360 