The most fulfilling and reassuring conversation I had in the days following the 2012 election was with someone whom I deeply disagree with. As a liberal Jew from the Northeast, my beliefs about Americ...Read More
“Mom, I’m hungry. Can I have your grapes?” “Sure,” I replied—even though I’d been counting on that handful of grapes to carry me through the next few hours until dinner. It was Day 6 of ...Read More
By witnessing and transforming the most troubling parts of our religions we will transform ourselves and, in doing so, our relationship to those of other faiths. This work must begin with each of us a...Read More
The German Chancellor Angela Merkel stirs her coffee as British Prime Minister David Cameron passes around a plate of cupcakes. Barack Obama looks up from his notes, smiles and says, “We’ve all ag...Read More
Every Sunday, right before we receive Holy Communion, I pray the Lord’s Prayer with my church. In general, I think it’s hard to pray in a humble and honest way during an antagonisti...Read More
This is the first installment in an ongoing series that will explore issues in spirituality through a review of significant symbolic motions, poses, and gestures from a variety of religious traditions...Read More
Over the High Holidays, my rabbi asked our congregation to participate in a week-long Food Stamp Challenge—to limit our food spending to the equivalent of “food stamp” benefits, $31.50 per perso...Read More
This article was first published at “The Bloviating Ignoramus,” a blog for politics and culture. There are some arguments that people espouse that need to have a response, whether or not anyone ev...Read More
Many of the world’s religions find their start within a position of cultural particularity, being centered upon the idea of a chosen people, chosen land, chosen language, etc. As these religions...Read More
Shabbat is not only the way we as Jews sustain ourselves, it is how anyone dissatisfied with the world as it is visions and creates the world as they imagine it should be. In the fallout from the trag...Read More