“Sing with Liberty,” a Prayer of Immigration and Welcoming
This prayer/song is based on “New Colossus,” the sonnet by Emma Lazarus appearing on a plaque inside the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty. Those familiar with the sonnet will recognize the images and phrases reflected here; it was written as an antidote to attempted hijackings of the message of the Lazarus poem.
Gratitude for Work
This is a simple prayer of gratitude for having a job. It can be easy to take for granted at times, especially with a challenging job or a difficult boss.
This prayer appears in the Labor Day section of This Grateful Heart: Psalms and Prayers for a New Day, along with a social justice prayer "Against Worker Exploitation," also very appropriate for this day.” Optional language appears in [brackets].
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.
Stories We Tell: Hero Israel
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 - Shof’tim
Parashat Shof’tim is all about judges: who should judge, how they should judge, and why a goo
On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah - Ki Teitzei: How Not to Hate
In Parashat Ki Teitzei, we read the phrase, “you shall not abhor an Egyptian, for you are a stranger in his land.” This statement is read only a few months after Leviticus, when the Israelites were enslaved by the Egyptians,
On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah - Ki Tavo: Not If, But When
Ki Tavo translates to “when you get there.” the phrasing is “when,” and not “if,” because the Torah reminds us that there was never a doubt that the Israelites would reach The Land of Milk and Honey.
On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah - Nitzavim-Vayeilech: It's Not in the Heavens
For many, the double portion Nitzavim-Vayeilech is comforting. Judaism is a religion full of commandments, but Nitzavim-Vayeilech assures us that everything we need to be Jewish is in our very hearts.