Category: Challenges
“Rules By Which They Could Not Live:” My Bat Mitzvah Drash
How can I publicly commit to a faith whose sacred texts explicitly condemn an important part of my life? I address this in my Bat Mitzvah drash, on parshat K'doshim-Acharei Mot.... Read More
Holiness and Removing the Stumbling Block — Parashat Kedoshim
Parashat Kedoshim (Leviticus 19:1-20:27) is read this week as part of the annual Torah reading cycle in the synagogue. As is the case most years, it is read in conjunction with the parsha or Torah por... Read More
From Redemption to Revelation: how do we get there, together?
The period of Counting the Omer (we count 49 days from the second day of Passover to Shavuot) in which we currently find ourselves is a reminder of the road between redemption and revelation. It seems... Read More
What I Learned From Elie Wiesel
Every once in a while, maybe even once in a lifetime, someone comes into your life, unexpectedly, and changes it forever. That happened to me in the Fall of 2001. By this time, I had already gone back... Read More
“Divine Immanence: A Psychodynamic Study in Women’s Experience of Goddess,” by Patricia ‘Iolana
Our spiritual and religious stories have tremendous power. When these stories centre upon our personal relationship with the Divine (known to be ineffable, yet commonly referred to as God, the Godhead... Read More
The M Word: Reclaiming Mission in the Age of Dialogue
For a long time I would cringe at the sound of the word “mission.” To me it represented the worst of the Christian tradition. I associated it with conquistadors and pushy missionaries, trying to ... Read More
Why Count the Omer in Sadness?
After the joyful Seders and family gatherings have ended and we have entered more deeply into the Passover holiday, I often feel jarred by the Counting of the Omer. Traditional Jews mark this time bef... Read More
In Oman, the Muslim-Christian Equation: Understanding is greater than Tolerance
On most days, if we’re realistic, the idea of religious tolerance serves only to usher a person just inside the other’s front door. It might, in the end, provide a sort-of, kind-of knowledge, but ... Read More