Category: Judaism
So Long, Farewell: Reflecting on the End of the Obama Administration in Light of this Week’s Parsha, Vayechi
This week’s parsha, Vayechi (Gen. 47:28-50:26), is a parsha of endings. The patriarch Jacob/Israel, having reached the ripe old age of 147 years, recognizes that the time has come for him to die. He... Read More
Interfaith Partnerships Around the World: The Swedish Context
I recently attended a lecture by a rabbi from Malmö, Sweden about how both the Jewish community in that city, the community in Sweden, and general Swedish society is assisting the influx of refugees ... Read More
On Creating Holy Communities
Choosing to become a rabbi was a decision I made with an incredible amount of consideration and care. I wish to bring my particular passions, skillsets and knowledge to bear on some of the most import... Read More
Learning to see an individual as an individual
As I made my way back home from the Muslim Jewish Women’s Leadership Conference hosted by The Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom in New Jersey earlier this month, I had the chance to think about the im... Read More
On Deception and it’s Consequences
When I read the story of Yaakov stealing Esau’s blessing from their father, Yitzchack in this week’s parsha, Parashat Toldot, I am filled with a wide array of often conflicting emotions. I feel a ... Read More
Where Do We Go From Here? The Role of Interfaith Dialogue in Uncertain Times
The election of Donald Trump to the highest office in our country, whatever one’s political leanings, has sent shockwaves throughout the world. Other world leaders, both current and potential, such ... Read More
Atonement, Not Attunement: The Beauty of Repentance
I’m all too familiar with Christian guilt. One side of my family is Irish Catholic (they of the famed “Catholic guilt”) and the other side a mix of Appalachian Protestants, from the backwoods Ba... Read More
Careful Forgiveness: Atoning with Life in the New Year
“Let us forget with generosity those who cannot love us.” Pablo Neruda Yom Kippur is the Jewish day of atonement between humanity and the divine. Jewish tradition dictates that atonement between h... Read More