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The Festival of Happy Lights
My latest on the My Jewish Learning/Rabbis Without Borders blog. Wishing you and yours a Happy Hanukkah! http://www.myjewishlearning.com/blog/rabbis-without-borders/2014/12/17/the-festival-of-happy-lights/
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Investing in Oil, Lighting our Future
We are perhaps all familiar with the story of Hanukkah, which begins this coming Tuesday night. In the second century BCE, the Jewish community was under the tyrannical rule of the Syrian-Greek king Antiochus IV, who imposed a series of harsh anti-Jewish measures on the population. He forbade the practice of Judaism, imposed Hellenizing policies…
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“I Nearly Died. This is What.” (On Redemption)
One of the joys of travel on a Sunday is the ability to read the New York Times Sunday edition cover to cover. Since rabbis work on Sundays, my duties usually preclude this, and I dole out the sections over the course of the week. A few weeks ago, however, I found myself on a…
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The First and Future Thanksgiving
One of my challenges as a rabbi is to make Judaism relevant across demographics. Part of the challenge comes from the fact that what necessitates how we teach Judaism to kids is different than how we teach Judaism to adults. And very often I find that people who study Judaism as adults are surprised by…
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Praying (Again) for Peace and Safety
This week’s attack in Jerusalem hit a particularly deep nerve. If you haven’t heard by now, two cousins, members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, entered a Jerusalem synagogue on Tuesday morning with guns and knives, attacking the people who were there in prayer. Five people were killed in the attack: four…
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The Unclaimed Dead
This week’s Torah portion is Chaye Sarah, and begins with the death of Sarah. After the ordeal of having to nearly sacrifice his son, Abraham returns home to the death of his wife. (Some commentators connect the two events, saying Sarah died when she heard about what Abraham had done.) Abraham then begins the difficult…
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Next up: Liberalism and Conservatism
Originally posted on A Rabbi and a Pastor Walk into a Bar…: The election results are in. Here are a few things we do know: it is going to be harder to purchase a firearm in Washington State. The Republicans will control both houses of the U. S. Congress. The Washington State delegation will stay…
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Wear Your Bike Helmet
Here is my scientific observation based on empirical evidence: while children are susceptible to head injuries and drowning, once they reach adulthood they are immune from such injuries. Isn’t this correct? My evidence is based on the large number of people I see riding their bikes with their kids where the kids have helmets on…
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Your Impact Is a Blessing
This week we are introduced to Abraham. Our Torah portion this week, Lech Lecha, begins with God calling Abraham, and inviting him to go forth from his homeland to a new land. But the call to move geographic locations is simply a physical manifestation of a deeper, more spiritual move: Abraham is changing the direction…
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