Tag: Judaism
One of These Jews Is Not Like the Others: A Progressive Jew at an Orthodox Yom Kippur
It was raining at dusk. I decided not to ride my bike to the progressive Yom Kippur service on the Boston University campus. If I rode my bike, I would get too thirsty coming home and I wouldn’t ke... Read More
Interfaith Work: A call to action far from Kumbayahs
“Whosoever does righteous deeds, male or female, who has faith, to such God will grant a higher existence in the hereafter that is good and pure. They will be rewarded according to the best of their... Read More
When a rabbinical student says Kaddish for his non-Jewish parents…
Having grown up in the Catholic faith, death, dying, and mourning were always such surreal experiences. Although one begs to ask, what isn’t surreal about the entire process for anyone? It always fe... Read More
The Mechanics of Personal Transformation via Interfaith Dialogue
My research on interfaith dialogue is driven by questions about people’s individual capacities for transformation and cohabitation with other humans. In previous articles (here and here) I demonstra... Read More
Working T’shuvah – What is Forgiveness?
I grew up in a non-religious family, and then became Christian as a teenager, and then converted again to Judaism as an adult. I learned as a teen that forgiveness is freely and completely given. It i... Read More
Tu b’Av: “R/evolution is love” (Assata Shakur)
Tu b’Av (the 15th of Av), celebrated today, follows on the heels of Tisha b’Av (the 9th of Av – clever). Tisha b’Av is the culmination of a period called the Three Weeks –... Read More
“50 Years Since Nostra Aetate” with The International Council of Christians and Jews
“Jews are non-Christian in a way that other religions are not.” Meredeth Banki, speaker at the International Council of Christians and Jews, said this when speaking about her experience as part of... Read More
Digging Deeper: Archaeology and Interfaith Community
As the sun spilled over the Galilee hills in the distance, I paused for a moment, straightening up from over my pickaxe and squinting into the east. The sky had been lightening for the past thirty min... Read More