We Were the Lucky Ones
Desperate times inspire bravery, creativity, resilience, and endurance.
Venice, The Jews and Europe: 1516-2016
Weighing in at more than five pounds and offering up more than 500 pages of text and illustrations, Venice, The Jews and Europe: 1516-2016 (Rizzoli) is a comprehensive and valuable resource for understanding the institution of the first Jewish ghetto, on the 500th anniversary of its establishment in Venice, Italy.
Judas
Amos Oz is one of Israel’s best known authors, and one of the most controversial. At 77, he is widely considered as the godfather of Israeli peaceniks. After fighting in the 1967 Six-Day War, he was the first Israeli to call publicly for the creation of an independent Palestinian state in the newly occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. “Even unavoidable occupation,” he wrote, “is a corrupting occupation.” His opposition to Israeli settlements on Palestinian land, led to his co-founding Peace Now in 1978.
Then They Came for Me: Martin Niemöller, the Pastor Who Defied the Nazis
German Lutheran Pastor Martin Niemöller is best known for his celebrated confession. These oft-quoted words at Holocaust commemorative observances might lead you to believe that Niemöller was sympathetic to Jewish suffering during the Holocaust. Not true.
Beyond the Shadows: The Holocaust and the Danish Exception
Judy Glickman Lauder’s photographs in Beyond the Shadows: The Holocaust and the Danish Exception are so masterfully crafted they make us feel as if we ourselves are on the train tracks approaching Treblinka, behind the barbed wire fence at Majdanek, at the entrance of Dachau under the sign Arbeit Macht Frei, outside a gas chamber at Auschwitz. Faced with these images, we can’t help but imagine what it must have been like for the millions of innocents who entered these passageways, in most cases never to return.
Behold, America: The Entangled History of "America First" and "The American Dream"
Many American Jews shuddered as Donald Trump proclaimed, “The American Dream is dead!” and “America first!” to rally crowds during his 2016 presidential campaign. We remembered how, in the late 1930s and early 1940s, these slogans were an open call for virulent anti-Semitism, pro-Nazi sentiment, white supremacy, xenophobia, and nativism.
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 - P'kudei: The Individual and the Collective
What is the difference between individual spiritual experiences and collective experiences? Is one more powerful than the other? And, if so, what does that mean? Rabbi Rick Jacobs teaches how Parshat Pikudei highlights what can happen when communities become holy.
On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah - Vayikra: Balancing Innovation and Tradition
How can we be religious innovators, keeping the essence of tradition, but remembering how far we can go? Learn about these themes in Vayikra with Rabbi Rick Jacobs.
Four ways to listen:
On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah - Tzav: What Are We Obligated to Do?
What are we actually obligated to do? What is imposed and what do we choose? Rabbi Rick Jacobs explores Parashat Tzav
Five ways to listen: