Tag: Judaism
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The Mountain is Over Our Heads: Kol Nidre 5786
My sermon from Yom Kippur this year. I forgot to post it here until recently! I don’t know where you are getting your news from these days, but one of my go-to sources is the Onion. If you are not familiar with the Onion, it is a satirical newspaper that has been around for a…
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7 Ways We Can Meet this Moment: Rosh Hashanah 5786
It goes without saying that this has indeed been a difficult few years. Last year as we welcomed in the new year we were negotiating our feelings and response to October 7 and its aftermath. This year, we find ourselves in a place perhaps we didn’t expect, as hostages still languish in captivity and this…
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A Day of Love and Hope
This past Shabbat was also a minor holiday on the Jewish calendar: Tu B’Av, so named because of its date, the “fifteenth of [the month of] Av.” Not found in the Torah, it is a later addition to the Jewish calendar, but so seemingly obscure that the rabbis in the Talmud do not have a…
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“Blood Pollutes the Land”
As you can see from the reference to last week’s Torah portion, I wrote this to my congregation last week and forgot to post here. I now have a Substack as well and want to invite you to subscribe to me there as I figure things out! “Blood pollutes the land.” (Numbers 35:33) is a…
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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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Joy, Grief, and the Road Ahead
With the news of the impending ceasefire and hostage deal announced Wednesday, the tragedy that has befallen Israel and Palestine since October 7, 2023 has hopefully come to an end. As the Israeli cabinet has most recently approved the deal, many have confidence that we are on the path to ending this war. I know…
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Destruction and Conflict: Then and Now (for Tisha B’Av)
In a few days, the Jewish community will mark Tisha B’Av (“the ninth of Av”), a day on our calendar of mourning and commemoration. The historic events at the center of the observance is the destruction of the First Temple at the hands of the Babylonians in 586 BCE and the Second Temple at the…
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Is This Passover Different From All Other Passovers?
As we move into Passover this coming week, our attention will naturally turn to the events in Israel and Gaza. Indeed, this has been our reality as we have moved into any Jewish celebration or space over these past six months—each holiday, each gathering feels overshadowed by the horrible events happening thousands of miles away.…
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Torah tl;dr: “Noah”
Be Righteous Now. New episode is up. 60 seconds to wisdom. Short teachings on the weekly Torah portion. Suitable for all who seek. Read the full portion here.
Rabbi 360 