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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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Bittersweet
Now that the holidays are over, its time to get back to my regular weekly posting. We are at the end of the month of Tishrei, which is chock full of holidays: the High Holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the New Year and the Day of Atonement; the fall harvest festival of Sukkot…
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We Should Fear the Ebola Virus
My new post at the Rabbis Without Borders blog on MyJewishLearning.com is up! You can read it here: http://www.myjewishlearning.com/blog/rabbis-without-borders/2014/10/22/we-should-fear-the-ebola-virus/
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Yom Kippur 5775: “What About Palestine!?”
If you are friends with me on Facebook, you may have heard about this incident. I did put it up on my blog as well: I don’t normally walk by our corner sign, on the corner of 8th and Washington. Since our parking is on the other side of the building, I’m usually parking there…
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Kol Nidre 5775: “We are Vulnerable”
There is a section of the Yom Kippur liturgy that is so esoteric, so challenging, so removed from our own contemporary day to day life, and so removed from our contemporary conceptions of spirituality, that we do not even do it here at TBH. Yes, I know, you are thinking…the services are so long already,…
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Downtown Crime Report: Our Etrog Was Stolen
Someone stole the etrog from our congregational sukkah. On Wednesday afternoon I left a lulav and etrog, along with an information and how to sheet, in the Temple Beth Hatfiloh sukkah so that anyone who wished to perform the ritual of waving the lulav and etrog could. I peeked in Thursday morning and interestingly the…
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