Category: Intra-Faith
On Divine Exile and the Sacred Act of Welcoming (Part II)
This post is a continuation of Part I. It is my intention to now explore and explicate concrete ways in which we, as individuals and communities deeply concerned with the well-being of others and of o... Read More
On Divine Exile and the Sacred Act of Welcoming (Part I)
This is the first part of a two-part post. In “Man’s Quest for God”, a series of essays on prayer, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel writes: “The Shechinah [Divine Presence] is in exile, the world ... Read More
“I Wanted to Be an Iconoclast”: A Protest Against the Pledge of Allegiance and a Call to True Iconoclasm
This past week, my stickler-for-the-rules seven-year-old son got in trouble at school for refusing to stand for and recite the Pledge of Allegiance. This refusal came not from a strong familial protes... Read More
Learning from Others – Intra-Faith Engagement
I was recently at a talk at Yale, where the Chaplain’s Office hosted a tea for me with students. It was a wonderful opportunity to speak to a rising generation of young folks who are interested in r... Read More
Who is my neighbor? (Syria edition)
As the conflicts in Syria and Iraq have become increasingly sectarian over the last few years, feeding off one another’s dynamics and international rhetoric and involvement, stories about the pe... Read More
Community, Choice, and Identity: The Politics of Wearing Skirts
The package arrived on a cold Friday afternoon, a nondescript bundle shoved into my mailbox. The unremarkable packaging and unglamorous delivery method disguised the tightly packed questions, doubts, ... Read More
Understanding the Aga Khan’s Speech in History
Recently, the Aga Khan gave a speech at Brown University. As the head of a community of Muslims spread throughout the world, a community to which I belong, the speech needs some reflection. As the Ima... Read More
In Another Gilgul: Forgiveness, the Israeli/Palestinian Conflict, and Bedtime
Every night before we go to sleep, Jewish liturgy offers us the opportunity to forgive. The Bedtime Shema begins: “Master of the universe, I hereby forgive anyone who angered or antagonized me or wh... Read More