Synagogue Innovation is the Key to Strengthening Jewish Life
If conventional wisdom reigned supreme, it would be easy to imagine that many of our venerable congregations – those steeped in history and tradition – are, by definition, ill-equipped to adapt to the complex and sometimes confusing trends in contemporary Jewish life. Supposedly enlightened students of contemporary Jewish life regularly suggest that when it comes to congregations and denominations, “large” means “lethargic” and “old” means “obsolete.” To their way of thinking, “new” means “noteworthy,” and “small” means “sustainable.” The Jewish future, they claim, belongs to small, innovative start-ups.
In my view, their thinking is misguided and I’d like to challenge it.
Jewish, Trans, and Still in High School: One Teen Activist's Story
By the time she was 3 years old, Jazz Jennings (not her original first name or her real last name) knew she was meant to be a girl. In her new book Being Jazz: My Life as a (Transgender) Teenager, Jazz tells her story, including how she and her family became reality TV stars and outspoken advocates for transgender rights.
God is Counting on Us to Make Their Memories a Blessing
What is the proper religious response to acts of barbarism like the massacre we saw perpetrated against members of the LGBT community in Orlando on Sunday?
Tikkun Tikvah: Restoring Hope, Reforming Sentencing, Engaging Voters in California
“My name is Jorge and one of my redeeming qualities is my ability to look past people’s limitations and to see God in everyone I meet.” “My name is Chung and my redeeming quality is my courage to admit my faults.” “My name is Noble Brother and my redeem
Israeli Soul-Searching Atop a Military Outpost in Lebanon
Matti Friedman was conscripted into the Israeli Defense Forces at 20 and sent to a border outpost in Lebanon called Pumpkin Hill, which he describes as “a forgotten little corner of a forgotten little war.” Israeli casualties of Hezbollah guerilla attacks were code-named “flowers,” hence the title of his new book, Pumpkinflowers A Soldier’s Story.
In Solidarity: Continuing the Journey for LGBT Equality
In just a few days, we’ll celebrate a major milestone in the movement for LGBT equality: the one-year anniversary of the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, declaring marriage equality the law of the land. June 26, the day the decision came down in 2015, also marks the anniversary of the day that two other important LGBT equality decisions were announced: United States v. Windsor in 2013 and Lawrence v. Texas in 2003. For all intents and purposes, June 26, and the entire month of June, designated as Pride Month, give us so much to celebrate in this journey to full inclusion and equality for the LGBT community.
A Kotel for all Jews
Combatting Child Poverty in Puerto Rico Through Debt Reduction
Puerto Rico is an island with roughly 3.4 million inhabitants. If the territory were a state, it would be the 29th largest in the Union.
After Orlando, LGBTQ Jews Seek More Than Just Solidarity
As a queer Jew, the solidarity I seek from other Jews is not simply ignoring the passages of Torah that are used to discriminate against LGBTQ people. I seek recognition that homophobia and transphobia actively exist in our modern Jewish community and are perversions within our interpretive tradition. I seek the acknowledgment that religion is too often used to justify discrimination against LGBTQ people.
A Jewish Lesson from the Cleveland Cavaliers' Big Win
On Sunday night, the Cleveland Cavaliers came back from a 3-1 deficit to win the NBA Championship. As a native Clevelander, I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact that the terrible curse has been broken. And there's a Jewish lesson to be learned in all of it.