Podcast: What do Cats Have to do with Interfaith Work?
Why I Got Ordained Online
I was ordained on January 12. This may come as a big surprise if you happen to have followed my life in the last year (an egotistical assumption, I know. I’m barely following my own life). In fact, ... Read More
Repealing the Ban Against Sikhs in the Military
Originally published on The Huffington Post. A few weeks ago, the British Army and the Scots Guard broke centuries of tradition by allowing a Sikh soldier, Jatinderpal Singh Bhullar, to wear his turba... Read More
The Bible and Public Policy
I am frequently asked what Jesus has to do with public policy. It is a difficult question to answer, because Jesus didn’t live in a participatory democracy in which he could clearly let us know ... Read More
Shabbat Shira and the Power of a Nigun
In addition to being Tu Bishvat—The New Year for the Trees, a minor holiday which has been increasing in significance due to its environmental and Kabbalistic themes, this past Shabbat happened also... Read More
Teaching Heschel and King by Leslie Hilgeman
“The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” – quote used by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I don’t often write about classes I take at rabbinical school. But every so... Read More
What I Learned About God by Ice Skating with My Boyfriend
My boyfriend and I live 307 miles apart (thank you, Google maps, for your precision). Long distance is not the easiest way to start a relationship, let alone to maintain it. When we manage to sneak a ... Read More
“The Problem of Nation-State in Democratic Politics” by Yi Shen Ma
The meaning of nationhood is a hotly debated issue in Western political theory. Despite its intrinsic ambiguity, however, most scholars agree that the idea of a “nation” is real enough to impact t... Read More
Reflections from a Subway Platform: Sunando Sen and The Fight To End Discrimination
I can’t stop thinking about Sunando Sen. Two weeks before Mr. Sen was pushed into the elevated tracks at 40th-Lowery St, I stood on that platform, fresh from an evening with a good friend. I love th... Read More
To Work the Earth of My Heart: Memorizing the Sermon on the Mount
I just returned from my last final of the semester. It was…unconventional, to say the least. Instead of sitting in a wood-paneled classroom for three hours getting intimate with a blue book, I spent... Read More