Holocaust – Page 2 – Rabbi Jon 's Website and Blog

December 13, 2019

What Are Jews?

A bad week for anti-Semitism in the U.S., wrapped around a controversy about anti-Semitism itself. There was the murder of Jews at a kosher market in Jersey City, which seems to be an anti-Semitic hate crime. The president of the United States, addressing the Israeli-American Council, threw in some gratuitous remarks about the Jews in… Continue reading

Antisemitism, Community Relations, Current Affairs, Election, History, Holocaust, Inclusion, Interfaith Dialogue, Israel, Justice, Leadership, Terrorism, Tikkun Olam, Tzedek, USA, Vayishlach

April 29, 2019

My Letter After Poway

This is the letter I wrote our congregation today. Dear Friends: Once again we are mourning and raging after an anti-Semitic attack on a synagogue over the weekend. Lori Gilbert Kaye was a dedicated member of Chabad of Poway, and she was killed as she tried to protect Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein, who was injured. Almog… Continue reading

Antisemitism, Calendar, Community Relations, Current Affairs, Freedom, History, Holocaust, Inclusion, Interfaith Dialogue, Islam, Justice, Leadership, Prayer, Shoah, Terrorism, Tikkun Olam, Tzedek, USA, Yom Hashoah

November 4, 2018

After Pittsburgh: A Narrower Bridge, A Net Like Never Before

Here is my D'var Torah from Saturday, Nov. 3, 2018, the Shabbat after the killings at Tree of Life Congregation in Pittsburgh. You can read it or download it as a pdf file here. It is so good to be here together this morning. I know that it is a great comfort to our friends,… Continue reading

Antisemitism, Community Relations, Current Affairs, Freedom, History, Holocaust, Immigration, Inclusion, Interfaith Dialogue, Justice, Leadership, Peace, Rabbi, Shabbat, Terrorism, Tikkun Olam, Tzedek, USA, Yom Hashoah

September 1, 2017

Ki Tetze — Learning from a Vigil at ICE

These are fairly unprocessed reflections, on a day when I went up to the Federal office building in Manchester, NH, to be part of an interfaith prayer vigil. Today, as on many days, people are being summoned to ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) to show they have plane tickets to leave the country, or they… Continue reading

Community Relations, Current Affairs, Elul, Freedom, Holocaust, Inclusion, Ki Tetze, Leadership, Peace, Tikkun Olam, Torah, Tzedek, USA

January 15, 2017

MLK Day 2017 — Dr King Teaches Us What Religion Ought to Be

While we all know 'I Have a Dream,' it is MLK's 1963 letter in response to clergy from jail in Birmingham that speaks most powerfully and timelessly about the meaning of religion. He wrote about churches, but I know the same words apply to synagogues as well. "On sweltering summer days and crisp autumn mornings… Continue reading

Community Relations, Current Affairs, Ethics, Freedom, Holocaust, Inclusion, Interfaith Dialogue, Islam, Justice, Leadership, MLK Day, Peace, Spirituality, Theology, Tikkun Olam, Tzedek, USA

July 27, 2016

Jewish, Liberal, and Conservative

This is a version of a section of the sermon I delivered last year on Yom Kippur. While I wrote it originally before any of the primary voting took place, I still think it helps clarify some of the choices before us in 2016. I welcome comments, and hope you will share this widely within… Continue reading

Community Relations, Current Affairs, Election, Freedom, Health Care, Holocaust, Inclusion, Leadership, Tikkun Olam, Tzedakah, Tzedek, USA

July 11, 2016

Remembering Elie Wiesel As a Lens For the Week That Was

These are the words I shared this past Shabbat morning. Another version, with appropriate links and notes and credit for things I read and heard, is here. Last Shabbat, the Jewish people and the world lost one of our generation's most important voices of conscience, Elie Wiesel.* As the week began, I thought that this… Continue reading

Community Relations, Current Affairs, Holocaust, Islam, Justice, Korach, Tikkun Olam, USA

July 6, 2016

Checking In

There is a lot happening in the world these days and I haven't posted for a while…. I think some of you may be here after hearing me on the West Wing Weekly podcast, and if so, welcome! If you're Jewish, you'll find that I had a couple more things to say about the episode in… Continue reading

Current Affairs, Election, Holocaust, Inclusion, Interfaith Dialogue, Islam, Television, Temple Beth Abraham, Tikkun Olam, Tzedek

May 3, 2011

On the Death of Bin Laden

Dear Friends: On Sunday night, we learned that Osama bin Laden is dead. By coincidence, the announcement came on Yom Hashoah, the day we commemorate the Holocaust and remember those who died at the hands of the Nazis and their collaborators. As a New Yorker for more than a decade when the Twin Towers fell,… Continue reading

Current Affairs, Holocaust, Shoah, Yom Hashoah