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Can You Teach an Old Calf New Tricks?
This week’s Torah portion Ki Tissa tells the famous story of the Golden Calf. The Israelites, having escaped Egyptian slavery, are encamped around Mount Sinai. Moses is up on the summit receiving the Torah from God. When he is late in coming down the mountain, the Israelites begin to worry and ask Aaron, Moses’s brother…
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Creating Holy Space by Turning to Each Other
A few weeks ago I attended the 40-Hour Professional Mediation Training sponsored by the Dispute Resolution Center of Thurston County. The training was an intensive practicum in mediation, and we learned the formal technique of a mediation, which follows a proscribed formula and agenda in order to hopefully lead to a constructive resolution of a…
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My Podcast Debut: Olympia Pop Rocks
Recently I had a great time visiting with Jemmy Joe and Guire McGuire on their local podcast Olympia Pop Rocks. Its a great podcast in which they interview local figures in arts, culture, social justice, etc., and was honored that they invited me to be on their show. The conversation was free-wheeling, and we talked…
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Let Them Make Me a Sanctuary, and I Will Change the Toilet Paper
This week’s Torah portion, Terumah, is the Torah portion that launched a thousand capital campaigns. Having transmitted the 10 commandments and other laws to Moses—the laws that will frame the covenant and give new organization and meaning to the newly liberated Israelites—God tells Moses to build a sanctuary, a tabernacle, that will serve as a…
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Should Jews Vote for Bernie?
Following up on Sen. Bernie Sanders’ win in the New Hampshire primary, here are some musings for the Rabbis Without Borders blog: Should Jews Vote for Bernie?
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We Must Do Something, Even if We Can’t Do Everything
As the legislative session begins here in Washington, I had the first opportunity to offer testimony on pending legislation. As part of my commitment to social justice, I find the opportunity to use the clergy voice to bear on legislation to be very important. Oftentimes to affect social change we need to work through our…
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If a Tree Talks in the Forest, Does it Make a Sound? (On Tu Bishvat)
Today is Tu Bishvat, the new year of the trees. Originally an ancient holiday used to determine the age of trees and the fitness of fruit for Temple offerings, the day in contemporary times has become an opportunity to reflect on Jewish views of nature. Adopting a mystical tradition, we hold a Seder (as on…
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You Gotta Be In It to Win It
Well, I didn’t win Powerball. Would I still have continued to blog if I won? Probably. But anyway, here is a post I wrote on the Rabbis Without Borders blog yesterday: You Gotta Be In It to Win It
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If I Forget Thee, O Ken Griffey, Jr….
Like many immigrants, I retain aspects of my life in the old world while at the same time adapting to those in the new. That is the same for me having immigrated to the new world of the Pacific Northwest from the old world of New York. That has taken adjustment over the years, and…
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Rabbi 360 