Gaza

October 12, 2025

Why Our Jewish Community Should Be at the CROP Hunger Walk

If you’re in our area, I hope you will be part of next Sunday’s interfaith CROP Hunger Walk. Here is why I think that’s important always, and especially for all of us thinking about the place of Jews in America right now. Continue reading

Antisemitism, Calendar, Community Relations, Current Affairs, Equality, Ethics, Food, Gaza, Interfaith Dialogue, Israel, Jewish Education, Justice, Peace, Synagogue, Tikkun Olam, Tzedakah, Tzedek, USA, Young Jewish Adult, Youth
September 26, 2025

Rosh Hashanah D’var Torah Day 2: The Power of Kindness in a Brutal World

This was my D’var Torah for the second day of Rosh Hashanah 5786 (2025). In a piece in Slate about the TV show Ted Lasso, Amanda Prahl wrote: Kindness is the vanilla of emotional concepts. It has the reputation of being safe, two-dimensional, passive, and utterly bland. Ask any culinary expert, though, and they’ll tell… Continue reading

Anger, Antisemitism, Current Affairs, Gaza, Gratitude, High Holidays, Holidays, Immigration, Inclusion, Israel, Justice, Leadership, Middot, Rosh Hashanah, Tikkun Olam, Torah, Tzedek, USA, Vayera, Yamim Noraim
October 9, 2024

A Year Later, Back to Moshe’s Final Words of Blessing — Rosh Hashanah 5785 (2024) Day 1

On Simchat Torah morning, after we parade with the Torah scrolls, we gather around to read the very last words of Moshe Rabbenu, Moses our teacher. The man who could hardly speak departs with an original song – his words, not God’s. And his last sentence in life begins: Ashreicha Yisrael, Mi Chamocha. Happy… Continue reading

Antisemitism, Calendar, Community Relations, Current Affairs, Gaza, High Holidays, Holidays, Hope, Interfaith Dialogue, Israel, Leadership, Moshe, Power, Rosh Hashanah, Terrorism, Torah, Yamim Noraim, Young Jewish Adult, Youth
October 6, 2024

A Prayer For All of Us Who Are Mourning A Year After October 7

A year of mourning has a rhythm, supposedlyA bass line laid down by SagesTo help the heart re-pace itselfSo the heart can help the bodyMetabolize absenceLet go the face, the name,The vocal signatureLet them travel the neuron network pathwaysFor 7 days, for 30; 11 months, a yearFind their way to the assembly pointAt the node… Continue reading

Antisemitism, Calendar, Current Affairs, Dreams/Dreaming, Gaza, Israel, Jerusalem, Peace, Young Jewish Adult, Youth
May 16, 2024

An Invitation From a Zionist to Non- or Anti-Zionists: Talk to Me

For the non-Zionists or anti-Zionist in my circle, a sincere set of questions from a Zionist. I’m actually looking to understand where you are coming from, so these aren’t gotcha questions. I’ve been working on this for a week or more, but held off posting so as not to intrude on people’s marking Yom Hazikkaron,… Continue reading

Antisemitism, Community Relations, Current Affairs, Equality, Ethics, Freedom, Gaza, History, Holocaust, Inclusion, Interfaith Dialogue, Islam, Israel, Justice, Peace, Speech Ethics, Terrorism, Tikkun Olam, Yom Haatzmaut, Young Jewish Adult, Youth
May 15, 2024

Yom Hashoah Remarks 5784 (2024)

This is what I said at the ceremony of lighting candles at the end of our annual Holocaust Remembrance Program in Nashua which the Jewish community holds at Rivier University in conjunction with the school, our Catholic partner in remembering. After the thank you's I said this: We came here this evening to learn and… Continue reading

Antisemitism, Calendar, Community Relations, Current Affairs, Gaza, History, Holidays, Holocaust, Interfaith Dialogue, Israel, Justice, LGBTQ+, Power, Terrorism, Tikkun Olam, Tzedek, Yom Hashoah, Young Jewish Adult, Youth
May 3, 2024

Tentative Torah For the Week’s Parasha and Week of Protests

Some meandering and very rough notes about the opening of this week’s Torah reading, Leviticus 16. It stands on its own, though originally this all emerged from me during the spring 2024 events at Columbia University and other places. The chapter appears to be just the description by the Divine to Moshe and Aharon (Moses… Continue reading

Acharei Mot, Antisemitism, Calendar, Current Affairs, Foregiveness, Friendship, Gaza, Holidays, Interfaith Dialogue, Israel, Justice, Leadership, Middot, Midrash, Moshe, Parashat Hashavua, Patience, Ritual, Tzedek, USA, Yom Kippur, Young Jewish Adult
March 22, 2024

Being Jewish Is More Than Anti-Anti-Semitism

This was my D’var Torah for Shabbat morning, March 23, 2024. This is my closing address for our six-week conference of the Society for the Advancement of Esther-Informed Spiritual Therapy. Today is Shabbat Zachor, the Shabbat that comes before Purim. Shabbat Zachor is the dark set-up for a zany festival. Zachor means “remember.” We are… Continue reading

Antisemitism, Calendar, Community Relations, Current Affairs, Esther, Ethics, Gaza, Holidays, Holocaust, Israel, Leadership, Middot, Purim, Torah, Young Jewish Adult, Youth
March 21, 2024

Adar Conversation — Getting to Mi Yode’a (Who Knows): Moral Clarity in a Topsy-Turvy World

Here is a session I did picking up on another of the themes I laid out in my talk a couple weeks ago. Grateful to Valley Beit Midrash for hosting it. You can watch or listen. Follow the texts I refer to here on this source sheet at Sefaria. Continue reading

Antisemitism, Calendar, Current Affairs, Esther, Gaza, Holidays, Midrash, Purim, Talmud, Tzedek, Yom Kippur, Young Jewish Adult, Youth
March 18, 2024

Adar Conversations Continued: Esther and Responding to Anti-Semitism After October 7

Rabbi Karen G. Reiss Medwed and I recorded this conversation last night, and you can watch it on YouTube or listen as a podcast. The Megillah (the biblical Book of Esther) is a story of anti-Semitism set in the Diaspora in a multiethnic empire where Jews were living in peace. How did the Jews of… Continue reading

Antisemitism, Calendar, Community Relations, Current Affairs, Education, Esther, Ethics, Gaza, Holidays, Holocaust, Israel, Joy, Leadership, Patience, Power, Simcha, Terrorism, Tikkun Olam, Torah, Tzedek, USA, Young Jewish Adult, Youth
March 11, 2024

Conversations Toward Purim: Esther-Informed Spiritual Therapy for 5784 (And Beyond?)

To listen to this as a podcast recording, click here. You can watch, or read the same thing just below the video thumbnail. This is an introduction to a few conversations about the festival of Purim and the months of Adar in the Jewish calendar. I am releasing this on March 7, 2024, the 27th… Continue reading

Antisemitism, Calendar, Community Relations, Current Affairs, Esther, Ethics, Feminism, Gaza, Holidays, Israel, Joy, Power, Purim, Talmud, Terrorism, Young Jewish Adult, Youth
January 12, 2024

D’var Torah: Questioning and Certainty

This is my D'var Torah for Shabbat, Parashat Va-era, January 13, 2024. It also reminds me of a Rosh Hashanah sermon I gave in 2022/5783, "Right-ology: How To Be Right Better in the New Year" In August we went down to New York for the simchat bat celebration for our newest grandniece, and when we… Continue reading

Antisemitism, Community Relations, Current Affairs, Ethics, Exodus, Gaza, Israel, Justice, Midrash, MLK Day, Moshe, Parashat Hashavua, Power, Shmot, Torah, Tzedek, Va’era, Young Jewish Adult, Youth