Lemmings Be Gone!
Recently, I sat with one of my congregants, a beautiful, smart, and funny 12-year-old girl who told me about the social challenges she is having in school. Likely because she is so beautiful, smart, and funny, some of the other "popular" girls in her class do not like her.
And Nun Shall Be Afraid!
Shout for joy . . . for on that day many nations will attach themselves to God . . . (Zechariah 2:14-15)
All Men Are Not Created Equal
No advance in wealth, no softening of manners, no reform or revolution has ever brought human equality a millimeter nearer. (George Orwell)
Finding Meaning in Tradition
This is the ritual law that the Eternal has commanded: Instruct the Israelite people to bring you a red cow without blemish, in which there is no defect and on which no yoke has been laid. You shall give it to Elezar the priest.
On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah – Mishpatim: When Judaism Calls Us to Speak Out Courageously
Parashat Mishpatim presents a full catalog of laws, rituals, observance, and obligations that guide us in living a Jewish life of moral depth and courage. But, Rabbi Rick Jacobs asks, how do we, as liberal Jews regard these laws – which of them are we obligated to observe, and how?
On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah - Shof’tim
Parashat Shof’tim is all about judges: who should judge, how they should judge, and why a goo
On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah - Ki Teitzei: How Not to Hate
In Parashat Ki Teitzei, we read the phrase, “you shall not abhor an Egyptian, for you are a stranger in his land.” This statement is read only a few months after Leviticus, when the Israelites were enslaved by the Egyptians,
On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah - Ki Tavo: Not If, But When
Ki Tavo translates to “when you get there.” the phrasing is “when,” and not “if,” because the Torah reminds us that there was never a doubt that the Israelites would reach The Land of Milk and Honey.
On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah - Nitzavim-Vayeilech: It's Not in the Heavens
For many, the double portion Nitzavim-Vayeilech is comforting. Judaism is a religion full of commandments, but Nitzavim-Vayeilech assures us that everything we need to be Jewish is in our very hearts.
On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah - B'reishit: There's Something About Seven
As we begin a new cycle of study and learning with Parashat B’reishit, Rabbi Jacobs makes a case for the number seven. Why is the number seven so significant, and what does this significance mean in Judaism?