Jewish? Ready to see the real Israel, ask any question, face every reality? Join hands with children learning to love in the face of trauma in a Palestinian School; link arms with Israeli activists working for a more just world. See for yourself ,and transform your feelings of inadequacy to know with the understanding born … Continue reading
Shabbat Hukkat: I Have Seen Outrage
This parashat hashavua, this Torah reading of the week, chronicles a time of terrible crisis for our people. The leaders we rely on are disappearing; the path is lost in a cloud of doubt and fear; the G*d of justice feels very far away. The relevance of parashat Hukkat is profound and somewhat unnerving … Continue reading
Shabbat Korakh: A Time To Rebel
There is a time for every purpose under heaven – Kohelet 3.1 This week’s parashah recounts a familiar place to we who are living the nightmare of what the United States has become. As our ancestors in parashat Korakh, we find ourselves in the middle of a long wandering. As then, we are lost, … Continue reading
Parashat Shelakh L’kha: Not So Close
This struggle is harder, and taking longer, than we thought This week’s parashah tells the story of how, in the old Yiddish expression, mahn trakht und Gott lakht, “people plan and G*d laughs.” Our ancestors, the ancient Israelites, expected that the journey to the Land they were promised would be their new home would be … Continue reading
Shabbat BeHa’alot’kha: We Need More Light
The days are as long as they get right now, yet we need light desperately: the light of hope, the light of healing, the light of happiness, all obscured in the horror of realizing that our own Federal government is operating concentration camps full of children and adults who are innocent of any crime. … Continue reading
Shabbat Naso: Queering Your Torah Study
Shir Tikvah’s greatest contribution to the Portland Jewish community is our vibrant, provocative weekly Torah study. As scholar Judith Plaskow put it: Given the centrality of Torah study and interpretation to Jewish self-understanding, it is not surprising that many contemporary Jews continue to grapple with Torah as a way of defining their Jewish identities. … Continue reading
