A Prayer for Safety During This School Year
As young people and their teachers return to school, to campus and to class, we pray for a year that proves safer than those before. Grant, O God, that houses of learning from daycare centers to graduate schools are places free from havoc and harm
The Season of Healing
The High Holidays are a time of introspection and self-assessment in anticipation of repentance, forgiveness, thanksgiving and rejoicing. It is a season of healing.
A Prayer for Simchat Torah
“Rejoicing in the Torah” doesn’t require us to find joy in every verse. It doesn’t mean that we concur with every choice made by the people in it.
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 - Sh'lach L'cha: Facing the Future
When faced with anxiety about the future, how can one persevere as a strong leader? How have we pushed people to the edges of our Jewish communities, and how do we gather them back?
On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah - Balak: How Does a Curse become a Blessing?
Parashat Balak teaches us to draw strength and inspiration from everyone around us. We read the story of how the Moabite King Balak tried, and failed, to destroy the Jewish people with the help of his sorcerer Balaam.
On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah - Pinchas: Religious Extremism
In this week’s Torah portion, we read the story of Pinchas who kills an Israelite out of zealous belief. There are many who equate “people of faith” with zealotry, doing anything to ensure the continuation of a religion or peoplehood.
On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah - Matot Ma-sei: Life is a Journey, Not a Destination
You have probably heard the saying that life is a journey and not a destination, but what exactly does that mean? Wherever we go in life, we are constantly meeting new people, experiencing new things, and exploring new places. Even if something seems like a destination, like landing a
On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah - D'varim: Leaving the Comfort Zone
Parashat D’varim, the opening portion of Deuteronomy, encourages us as individuals, congregations, and communities to avoid getting stuck in one way of thinking. Though there is comfort in the familiar, sticking to the status quo inhibits innovation.