On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah - Nitzavim: Why Organ Donation is Jewish
Parashat Nitzavim features the phrase “choose life,” but what does it mean to choose life? One way of choosing life is by becoming an organ donor. Rabbi Jacobs discusses why this lifesaving choice is part of his Jewish values in this episode of On the Other Hand.
On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah - Va-et'chanan: Why We Should Bring Politics to the Pulpit
Everybody has an opinion on whether politics should be brought to the pulpit, but according to Rabbi Jacobs, this debate was settled centuries ago.
On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah - Eikev: A Seat at the Table
A chapter in Parashat Eikev reads, “when you have eaten and are satisfied, you shall bless.” What does it mean to be satisfied, and what kind of power does a good meal have?
On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah - R'eih: Eating With Compassion
Parashat R’eih includes that infamous line: “you shall not boil a kid in its mother’s milk.” Jewish tradition categorizes the mitzvah of not mixing milk with meat as one without specific reasoning, but many scholars think th
Stories We Tell: The Scholar and the Merchant
Stories We Tell: Whatever You Do, Don't Bite Off the Pitom
Stories We Tell: Don't Apologize to Me, Apologize to Him
On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah - Tazria: Where and How Do We Heal?
This week, Rabbi Rick Jacobs teaches us from Parashat Tazria in the book of Leviticus, asking where we start when we need healing.
Four ways to tune in:
On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah - Metzora: Shabbat HaGadol
Rabbi Rick Jacobs, President of the Union for Reform Judaism, wonders if asking questions during a Passover seder is a religious mandate, or if it is actually demanded of us, and whether eating kosher for Passover bagels is really in the spirit of the holiday.
On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah - Pesach
Passover means matzah, and this week, Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, talks about how, love it or hate it, eating the “bread of affliction” might actually teach us about empathy.