My Kids Have Lots of Questions about God
My little guy and his siblings, like so many children, are full of questions about God. All day, every day, their inquiring minds want to know: Where is God? Why is God? Who is God? And the most oft-heard question of all: Is God a boy or a girl? Or neither? Or both?
One Step Closer to Food Security
Food insecurity impacts communities across the country and the world. 795 million people – one in nine people worldwide – are still hungry and 159 million children are chronically malnourished.
States Show Progress in Ending Solitary Confinement
Early this year, President Obama announced sweeping changes to rules regarding the use of solitary confinement in federal prisons.
10 Steps to Leading Your Own Shabbat Hike
Leading your own synagogue Shabbat hike is incredibly easy. In just 10 steps – simple but effective – you can embark on a moving spiritual experience. And, as we discovered on Congregation Or Ami’s own Shabbat hikes, the journey is inspiring and refreshing.
Ensuring a Bright Future for Reform Judaism No Matter What
“The future is not what it used to be,” said Rabbi Harry Danziger, beginning his Kabbalat Shabbat sermon to the soon-to-be ordinees and graduates of the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion’s (HUC-JIR) Cincinnati campus. Sometimes attributed to Yogi Berra (though his grammar was not as eloquent as Rabbi Danziger’s) this statement is an apt and useful expression to consider as the Reform Movement welcomes the newest class of rabbis, educators, cantors, scholars and professionals.
#NotOneMore: Taking Action to End Gun Violence on September 25
This past Mother’s Day, I marched with my family in the Moms Demand Action's 4th Annual Brooklyn Bridge March and Rally to End Gun Violence (#BridgetoGunSense).
How to Show the Torah Some Love
On a recent Friday night during services, after the ark doors were closed following Aleinu, my two-year-old daughter burst out screaming and had to be carried from the room. When I asked my wife later what had happened, she explained that Nava had wanted the Torah to come out, but it had not. My daughter loves Torah – in that absolute and forceful toddler love kind of way.
Given to us in that fateful moment at Sinai, Torah is our blueprint for sacred living – in relationship with God, the Jewish people, and all humankind. At Shavuot, we celebrate this gift by studying late into the night, eating sweets and dairy foods to symbolize the sweetness and lifeblood that Torah is for us, and making our own offerings to God: committing our children to the study of Torah and the embrace of Jewish tradition via confirmation.
Remembering how All Jews Stood at Sinai
In just a couple of days, we will celebrate Shavuot, the holiday that marks our receiving of the Torah on Mount Sinai.
How to Restore a Torah to Holiness
Recently in my congregation, while holding fast to the Torah, we didn’t hold fast enough – literally – and it accidently fell to the floor during a Shabbat service.
#NotOneMore: Taking Action to End Gun Violence
The other day, I was asked why I got involved in the gun violence prevention movement. It’s because of my intolerance—I have no tolerance for injustice and nonsense.