Words Not Spoken . . . Words Not Heard
Words are powerful. In Genesis, chapter one, God creates through words: “God said, ‘Let there be light!’—and there was light. . . . God said, ‘Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters,’. . . . God now said, ‘Let us make human beings in our image,’ ” (Genesis 1:3, 6, 26).
URJ Resolution on Anti-Semitism
Anti-Semitism is itself an ancient phenomenon and a remarkably resilient form of hate. In its most terrible manifestation, anti-Semitism led to the Shoah and the murder of 6 million Jews. In the aftermath of this genocidal tragedy, the world said “never again.” Yet despite this pledge, we now see acts of anti-Jewish hatred on the rise.
Rabbi Pesner on the 2020 Census: Every. Single. Name.
The Book of Numbers tells us
that God told the Children of Israel
to “take a census of the whole community,
every family according to its ancestral household,
listing every single name…”
Rabbi Esther Lederman: Children belong in schools, not cages.
In the Book of Jeremiah we read:
“A cry is heard in Ramah —
Wailing, bitter weeping.
Rachel weeping for her children.
She refuses to be comforted for her children, for they are no longer.”
Migrant Children Belong in Schools, Not Cages
Learn what one rabbi said at a civil disobedience event to protest child detention that was attended by more than 350 faith leaders in Washington, D.C. on June 12, 2019.
The Challenge of Righteousness
The wording of the verse gives rise to this debate. The text states that “Noah was a righteous man,” but immediately follows with the phrase “in his generation, he was above reproach. . . ” All of us, including the ancient Rabbis, are left to wonder if Noah is exceptional or not, if his righteousness would be universally righteous or simply righteous in his time.
How to Affirm Life in the Wake of Tragedy
Our congregation dedicated a living memorial, a tree, to “keep alive” the memory of those who lost their lives to hate and violence at the Pittsburgh synagogue last fall.
Rising Anti-Semitism in Germany: An On-the-Ground Assessment
wife and I are in Germany, so I wasn’t surprised that a few people sent me “The New German Anti-Semitism,” a story in a recent edition of the New York Times Magazine.
Pride Month: Victories for LGBTQ equality and the work ahead
Every June, Pride Month offers us an opportunity to celebrate LGBTQ equality and recommit to fighting for full inclusion for everyone in the LGBTQ community.