Tag: Judaism
A Divine Call for Affirmation
This past week, Jews around the world commenced the reading of the Book of Exodus as part of the annual Torah reading cycle. This past week’s Torah portion, Parashat Shemot, contain important moment... Read More
‘Nothing is Secret from You’ – A Jewish Objection to Government Surveillance
Each day, in the siddur, the Jewish prayer book, I read a small prayer authored by the 3rd century Babylonian sage Rav. In a discussion of what Jews need to say when we confess, Rav writes the follow... Read More
Two Religions, One Family: A Review of BEING BOTH
It was one of those classic hypothetical conversations—you know the type—where a dating couple tries to figure out if they’ll be compatible for the long haul. It started when my future husband a... Read More
Intentional Community on the Urban Frontier
“I’m tired of urban living,” I had become accustomed to repeating to friends and family, “and I wonder when I will get fed up, pack my bags, and head to a farm.” My escap... Read More
Unrateable Terrors
I help teach a university course on The Holocaust in Historical Context. It is, it should be, impossible to remain unaffected by immersive study of Western Antisemitism and how religious, economic, po... Read More
Saving Conservative Judaism: A Response to the Religious Landscape Survey
This essay was inspired by the following article: “Conservative Judaism turns 100 and Works to Reverse its Decline.” Back in 2009, when my fiancé and I were searching for a synagogue to a... Read More
A Drash on Parashat Noach
This drash (commentary on the weekly Torah portion) was delivered at JTS on October 5, 2013. Shabbat shalom! In reading and rereading this week’s parsha (portion), I was struck by what our parsha ca... Read More
The Problem with Noah
Jewish communities around the world read the Biblical story of Noah and The Flood this week. For most of my life, I’ve thought that this story is horrible. Sure, the idea that God cares enough about... Read More