The Remarkable Growth of Reform Judaism in Spain
I have been going to Spain every year since 2008 in order to help Bet Shalom in Barcelona, a small nascent Reform congregation, with its programs and religious services.
Galilee Diary: Independence Day II
If you will it, it will not remain just a dream.
-Theodor Herzl
So I had a little too much to drink at the Independence Day picnic and my head was spinning so I lay down on the grass for a minute…
Our Job is to Prevent Gun Violence
The utter horror of the murderous shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut remains in all of our minds and has rightly propelled us into a critical dialogue that we hope will produce real action after so many years. And the problem has been with us for many years. Much of the time, families and communities – especially in our inner cities – have fought on the front lines against gun violence without much attention from the rest of society. Now, with the alarming and increasing regularity of mass shootings – every couple of years it seems – like those in Newtown and Aurora, it should be clear to all of us that gun violence is our collective problem as a nation, and must be addressed in all of its forms.
Simultaneous Joy and Pain: The Wisdom of the Counting of the Omer
This year at our Passover seder, I experienced something deeply powerful which I had not felt in the context of Passover before.
On Jewish Unity
I met him on my flight back to Boston from Atlanta. He was a Muslim student from Dubai, I was a Jewish student from the United States. We had come from very different places but were on our way to the same university.
The Time is Now, Jason Collins
Jason Collins is black and gay. Who is Collins and why do these things matter? Some background: Collins is a good (albeit not great) active NBA basketball player, which means he is better than 99.99% of the basketball players in the world.
Visiting Rhode Island's Historic Synagogue
Reflecting on the Status of Civil Liberties, 12 Years After 9/11
Yom Kippur and Depression
It happens that this year the Days of Awe align with Suicide Prevention Week.
Can Vilnius Remember Vilna?
Vilna, Lithuania. Once, this city with its narrow, twisting lanes was renowned as the Jerusalem of the North, a flourishing center of Jewish culture.