On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah: K’doshim: Loving Your Neighbor
This week in parashat K'doshim, Rabbi Rick Jacobs, President of the Union for Reform Judaism, wonders: who is your neighbor? Can you love them even if they are not like you? If—and when—you do, can it change your life and even someone else’s?
On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah: Emor: Justice and Balance in Modern Times
This week Rabbi Rick Jacobs, President of the Union for Reform Judaism, speaks about parashat Emor and asks: how do you enact justice in modern times to make the world more balanced? And how do you elevate the receiver -- not your own self, the giver?
On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah: B'har: Social Justice to the Extreme
This week Rabbi Rick Jacobs, President of the Union for Reform Judaism, teaches about parashat B'har and wonders: what would social justice to the extreme look like, and did the Torah know to teach it thousands of years ago?
On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah - Shof’tim: Demanding Justice
At the core of being Jewish is a fundamental demand for justice. Demanding justice involves asking others to work toward a more just world, but it also involves asking ourselves to do that work.
On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah - Ki Teitzei: The Morality of War
Ki Teitzei translates to “when you go out,” but it doesn’t mean going out to dinner or the movies.
On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah - Ki Tavo: Spiritual Centering
Hasket, which translates to silence or stillness, is a word that appears in the Torah only once, during this week's Parasha, Ki Tavo.
On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah - Vayeilech: The Sacred Art of Letting Go
Parashat Vayeilech is read between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, a time of transition for all of us. We've brought in the new year with hopes, prayers, and the shofar, and we look toward Yom Kippur, where we are tasked with letting go of the last year and moving forward.
On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah - Nitzavim: Standing for What Matters Most
At the beginning of Parashat Nitzavim, we hear the phrase, "Today you are all standing." This phrase isn't referring to people simply standing, it means that the Jewish people stood together and entered into a Covenant, affirming the things that matter most.
On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah - Haazinu: Between a Rock and Hard Place
Parashat Haazinu includes the word tzur, or rock, eight times. But in this case, tzur isn’t referring to just any rock; it’s referring to God, as the rock of Israel.
On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah - Sukkot and the Fragility of Life
Five days after Yom Kippur, we turn our gaze out to the world around us and take notice of the harvest season. Sukkot is a holiday that teaches us to appreciate what we have, while reminding us that life is fragile.