Why I March
I want to slam society against the wall and shout at the top of my lungs, “This is not right! This is not just! This is not the world that we are commanded to create"
Love Beyond Measure: Tishah B’Av, Tu B'Av, and Tel Aviv Pride
As a queer rabbinical student, I felt that recent comments by an Orthodox rabbi were inaccurate at best and, at worst, possible incitement to hatred or violence against LGBTQ+ Jews.
Boston: A Jewish Success Story
Read what Jonathan D. Sarna, a distinguished historian of American Judaism, has to say about Boston’s Jewish community – from the 17th century through today.
You Think It Couldn’t Happen at Your Synagogue? So Did I
When I learned there had been 400 men chanting “Jews will not replace us” on the University of Virginia grounds, my first thought was for Congregation Beth Israel.
God’s Punishments: Or Are They?
Parashat Ki Tavo contains one of the most powerful and frightening chapters of the Torah.
From Collective Memory to National Identity
A litany of laws. A multitude of mitzvot. According to Maimonides, Ki Teitzei contains 72 of the 613 commandments in the Torah — the most commandments in any one Torah portion. As the time for the Israelites’ transition into the Land draws ever nearer, God and Moses continue to prepare the people for sovereignty and self-government. In addition to laws that cover rules and regulations within the Israelite community, this portion also includes two passages that dictate the relationship between the people of Israel and neighboring entities.
“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.