Throughout many generations of wandering in Exile, our ancestors would begin to develop our community institutions whenever we came to a new place, and it seemed like we would be able to stay for a while. The first such institution was neither the beit midrash (learning center) nor a beit knesset (center for gathering and prayer) – itContinue reading “Shabbat Hayei Sarah: Kindness Trumps Rights”
Monthly Archives: November 2016
Shabbat VaYera: Sodom and Gomorrah
Our parashah this week is VaYera, “he saw”, referring to Abraham, and his ability to see the Image of G*d in a stranger. Our reading, from the second year of the Triennial Cycle, brings us to one of the most infamous passages in the entire Torah, perhaps the entire Bible: the story of Sodom andContinue reading “Shabbat VaYera: Sodom and Gomorrah”
What Good Does This Safety Pin Do?
It started last week, immediately on the heels of the election, or maybe even a bit before: people starting to wear safety pins, as a sign to others that the wearers are those who will guard your safety with them. I hear that it’s an idea adopted from a reaction to Brexit. In the bestContinue reading “What Good Does This Safety Pin Do?”
Why Jews Should and Are Standing Up for Standing Rock
by Leora Troper Jews and Jewish communities around the country are standing up to support the Native American Water Protectors and to say no to the Dakota Access Pipeline. It is vital work, and fitting that we do it. There is, of course, what seem like the most obvious reason and most often quoted text –Continue reading “Why Jews Should and Are Standing Up for Standing Rock”
The Election: Of Hate, Grief, and a New Story
by Charles Eisenstein Normal is coming unhinged. For the last eight years it has been possible for most people (at least in the relatively privileged classes) to believe that society is sound, that the system, though creaky, basically works, and that the progressive deterioration of everything from ecology to economy is a temporary deviation fromContinue reading “The Election: Of Hate, Grief, and a New Story”
Shabbat Lekh L’kha: Go Forth, in Jewish
This week we cannot assert that the Jewish lifelines of Torah study and prayer are irrelevant for our day. This week it is almost unnerving how much the Torah and our Jewish tradition have to say to us to guide our thoughts and decisions. The haftarah for this Shabbat asserts: The coastlands look on inContinue reading “Shabbat Lekh L’kha: Go Forth, in Jewish”
Shabbat Noakh: The Fire This Time
On this Shabbat we are confronted with an intense and perplexing narrative. First, the world is overwhelmed with hamas, “lawless violence”, and then flooded unto utter destruction. The few who survive the catastrophic end of their world do not live happily ever after: a son takes advantage of his father’s vulnerability, reckless leaders gather followersContinue reading “Shabbat Noakh: The Fire This Time”
A Rabbinic Statement Supporting the Lakota Nation in its Opposition to the Dakota Access Pipeline
From the Shalom Center: We are living in the midst of a profound spiritual crisis in American society, expressed in the current election campaign and in many other forms as well. One of the most poignant is the nonviolent protest in North Dakota, led by people of the First Nations, against the imposition of theContinue reading “A Rabbinic Statement Supporting the Lakota Nation in its Opposition to the Dakota Access Pipeline”
Torah for the 21st Century by Rabbi Ariel Stone 