Category: Social Issues
Streams Run Uphill
In an excellent new book, Streams Run Uphill: Conversations with Young Clergywomen of Color, Ruth-Aimée Belonni-Rosario writes about the promises and pitfalls of colonialism in her own spiritual jour... Read More
Unreconcilable Beliefs: Humanism, Witches, and Human Rights
Before I went to Ghana I had no idea there were witches there. For me, witchcraft accusations were of historical interest, not a contemporary concern. How wrong I was. Witchcraft accusations are very ... 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
Living into human peace
In a recent application, I was asked to reflect on my thoughts about nonviolence and whether I consider myself a pacifist. This turned out to be a much more difficult question than you might assume,... Read More
We Are All of Us Soft Animals: Ruminations on Compassion
You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees For a hundred miles through the desert, repenting. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves. “Wild G... Read More
On Bringing Sacred Gifts and Our Sacred Selves
Last week’s Torah portion, Vayakhel, opens with Moses’ gathering the entirety of the Jewish people together. After reiterating the singular importance of Shabbat observance, specifically focusing ... Read More
Beyond a Corporate Model of Healthcare (Part I)
As a resident physician, I find it interesting that the most prominent public role models for medical humanism are all dead: Maimodedes, William Carlos Williams and Oliver Wendell Holmes come to mind ... Read More
Fear and Loathing in Qalandiya
Before today, I never imagined I would be quite so relieved to not understand Arabic. That’s because today, I visited a small portion of the West Bank with my wife and infant son courtesy of the... Read More