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
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
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
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
On the Jewish calendar, we are currently in the period known as Sefira or Sefirat HaOmer—the Counting of the Omer, a forty-nine day period between Passover and Shavuot. Each evening, beginning on th...Read More
Religious communities are never the same once they reach America. In my view, they often become even more remarkable. As a third-generation American Jew, it is at times even challenging for me to thin...Read More
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
We are walking now. Together, in the wilderness, walking. It’s hot, and dry. Sometimes there’s no water, or the water we find has a bitter taste. We haven’t always known where our next meal will...Read More
Yehezkel Landau is a Faculty Associate in Interfaith Relations at Hartford Seminary. In June, 2002, I spent six days at a place that is holy for me: the Community of Grandchamp, a convent of Protest...Read More
Pesach (Passover) is, without a doubt, one of the most widely observed, if indeed not the most widely observed holiday on the Jewish calendar. Pesach is personally my favorite holiday. Despite the mas...Read More