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A Post-“Hobby Lobby” Fourth
Tomorrow we celebrate the Fourth of July, the central observance of our civil religion as Americans. I believe that as Jews, we need to pay particular attention to the observance of this day. As a minority in this country, we are indebted to the founding principles and values of America. It is the idea of…
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Two Votes on Divestment
Recently we have seen two votes taken around divestment from Israel. First, the student senate at the University of Washington overwhelming voted (59-8) to not support BDS and divest from companies doing business with Israel. This was an important victory because while the resolution was about economic divestment, because it was an academic institution, the…
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Korach Gone But Still Here
This week in our Torah reading cycle we come to the story of Korach. Korach was a member of the Levite tribe, the tribe in which was invested the mantle of leadership of the Israelite community. Moses was of the Levites, and so was Aaron, his brother, whose line became the priesthood. The other non-priest…
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This Is The Place
We are back from our adventures, and we all made it! It was a wonderful trip, full of many great new sites and experiences. We visited family and friends (including a surprise meet-up with my college roommate), explored sand dunes and canyons, discovered fossils, visited an observatory, went on walks and hikes, swam in Lake…
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Atlas
This year I spent a very non-traditional Shavuot on the road, driving north on U.S. Highway 93 from Las Vegas to Wells, Nevada, a drive of almost 400 miles. When we planned this trip, we knew it would take us over the holiday. We were in Vegas at the time visiting family, and although we…
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Mountains and Canyons
There is one blessing I have been saying a lot this trip: Baruch atah Adonai eloheynu melech haolam oseh ma’aseh bereshit Blessed are you, Adonai our God, sovereign of all time and space, who creates the works of Creation. It is the blessing our tradition teaches we say whenever one sees an object of natural…
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Blown Tire
Day one of our big driving and camping trip went well, as we left Olympia for the day’s drive to Boise to visit family. Day two, however, hit a snag. About 20 miles out on the way to Utah, cruising along at the posted 75 mph speed limit, we heard a pop, felt a jolt,…
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On the Road
This week I am setting off on a journey. Yes, I know we use that image a lot to describe our life’s path. But this time I am going on an actual journey. My family and I are leaving town for two weeks on a driving and camping trip into Utah and Arizona and back…
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Expanding the Conversation for a Peaceful Future: On Israel’s 66th Birthday
This past week we moved through the most important holidays of the Israeli civil calendar: Yom Hazikaron, Memorial Day, and Yom Ha’atzmaut, Israeli Independence Day. These holidays came this year at an interesting time of reflection in the American Jewish community and its relationship with Israel. A few days prior to the observance of these…
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Rabbi 360 