Purim, the Bible, and a Vengeful God
Cruelty and bloodshed abound in the Bible as, for example, the Pharaoh's ruthless treatment of his Israelite slaves and Moses' vengeful slaying of the Egyptian taskmaster in the Passover story.
The Sacred Act of Unplugging: For Our Kids, For Ourselves
My 6-year-old son recently staged a one-man play in our kitchen. It had a simple plot – a mom with her face buried in her phone, tapping away at the keys while a kid tries to get her attention. “Tap, tap, tap… Mom. Mom. Mom…. tap, tap, tap. Mom, Mom, Mom. Tap, tap, tap. MOM! MOM!
A Cardinal's Synagogue Address: God's Will is for Peace
At some point in his or her career, every member of the clergy is called on to defend the efficacy of organized religion as a force for good.
That Special Yearning for Shabbat
You know that feeling you get sometimes when you hear a piece of music and it makes your heart want to leap right out of your chest? Maybe it's because of what the words mean, or because of how the melody lifts you, or because of what the song represents in your memory.
Savoring the Separation of Shabbat
Although we never take off our watches, everyone seems to know that camp time runs at a different pace.
Welcoming Shabbat - A Model for Justice
Four hundred years ago, the mystics of Tzfat began walking out into the fields to greet Shabbat (many of us reenact this by standing for the last verse of L'cha Dodi). Contemporaries scoffed: Shabbat comes to you, wherever you are!
Home is Where the Jewish Community Is
Nothing is more intimidating than leaving your comfort zone, facing a mix of new people, routines, and cultures – especially when you're doing it alone. I’ll never forgot how it felt when I left for college, a New York girl heading to school in the Midwest.