Catastrophe in America: Racism, Violence, & Tishah B'Av
I had a friend in college named Ray. He was a good guy. He had a lot of the qualities I thought I lacked when I was in college. Ray was good looking, athletic and charismatic. He was a running back on the school's football team.
Reform Movement Responds to President’s Budget
In response to President Obama’s proposed Fiscal Year 2013 budget, Rabbi David Saperstein, Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, issued the following statement yesterday: The annual release of the President’s budget provides an opportunity to consider how our nation’s values
President's Budget Proposal Reflects Tough Choices; Pleases and Disappoints
Saperstein: In crafting his budget, President Obama has made many difficult choices, reflecting the trying times of our day. Not surprisingly, we are pleased by some of the choices and disappointed by others.
January Hate Crimes Watch: Real Violence, Real Victims
Discussions of hate crimes often revolve around statistics and numbers, sometimes making it easy to lose sight of the human cost and the horrific nature of many of these attacks.
LGBT Youth Suicides Are No “Rash”
Galilee Diary: The Neighbors
Whoever saves one life in Israel [i.e., of a Jew] is as if he had saved an entire world.
– Mishnah, Sanhedrin 4:5
Whoever saves one life is as if he had saved an entire world.
The Peace-ful Warrior
My most poignant image of the Six Day War is the photograph of a young Israeli soldier praying at the Kotel, the Western Wall, enveloped in a talit, with an Uzi submachine gun hanging from his shoulder.
Staying Safe This Summer
This summer, through the Religious Action Center's Machon Kaplan program, I am interning for the Children’s Environmental Heath Network (CEHN).
Ki Teitzei: When You Go Out as a Warrior
Parashat Ki Teitzei includes a rich and varied collection of directives that serve as a partial blueprint for behaviors and norms to create the emerging covenantal culture. As Professor Adele Berlin notes, “Issues pertaining to women are prominent in this parashah. . . .
How Tikkun Olam and Pikuah Nefesh Will Help Me Prepare: A #BlogElul Post
Last week I had lunch with a rabbi friend who told me he’s in the midst of preparing four different sermons for the upcoming High Holidays.