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Divine Violence and Abolition in Egypt
In Parshat Va-eira, we watch as God's message of freedom unfolds across Egypt and is ignored, scorned by Israelites and Egyptians alike. We watch as moral suasion, peaceful resistance, and God's word fail to bring about liberation and an end to oppression. In the wake of this failure, God visits 10 plagues on Pharaoh and the Egyptians, the first 7 of which appear in this week's portion.
Faith Groups Anticipate Federal Action to Protect American Muslims & Religious Freedoms
Rabbi Saperstein: "Securing the right of religious freedom and ensuring that we, and our neighbors, are able to follow the dictates of our conscience, free of fear, is an issue of urgent importance in America. "
"Unite the Right" Organizers Lose Big in Court
Amy Spitalnick is the executive director of Integrity First for America (IFA), the civil rights nonprofit behind Sines v. Kessler - the successful federal lawsuit against the neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and hate groups responsible for the violent "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017. I sat down with Amy, the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors, to get her views on the significance of this lawsuit.
Afterword
New from CCAR Press, The Social Justice Torah Commentary demonstrates that the Torah is a guide to addressing the most urgent challenges of our time. This excerpt is from Rabbi Jonah Dov Pesner, Director of the Religious Action Center and Senior Vice President, Union for Reform Judaism.
Reform Movement Condemns Rabbi Ovadia Yosef Inflammatory Comments
Rabbi Saperstein: "Rabbi Ovadia Yosef's comments about the Palestinian people saying that, "Abu Mazen and all these evil people should perish from this earth," are morally reprehensible.
2021 is Almost Over: Congress Must Act Before the New Year
We are in a time of great crisis, facing pandemics of systemic racism, poverty, climate change, voter suppression and COVID-19. Millions of Americans experience unemployment, hunger, and housing insecurity, facing the threat of climate change daily. People of Color and other marginalized communities experience the most adverse consequences. And the country continues to face endless attacks on our voting rights and reproductive rights. Before Congress breaks for their winter recess, there is much left to be done.
The God of Exodus, The God of Life
Make me a grave where'er you will,
In a lowly plain, or a lofty hill,
Make it among earth's humblest graves,
But not in a land where men are slaves.
-Frances Ellen Watkins Harper (Bury Me in a Free Land)