Middot

November 14, 2024

A Year of Jewish Ethics #3: Is Anger a Moral Emotion?

Emotions are a part of ethics. We can’t completely disconnect the principles we want to be guided by from the feelings we experience when someone is living up to those principles or violating them. But does emotion help us act more ethically? I am recording this not long after the 2024 election, when anger… Continue reading

A Year of Jewish Ethics, Anger, Current Affairs, Ethics, Lech L’cha, Maimonides, Middot, Parashat Hashavua, Young Jewish Adult, Youth
November 13, 2024

After the Election: Take Love Seriously. Give Love Wildly.

This was my Dvar Torah last Shabbat, November 9, the first Shabbat after Election Day 2024. First I want to say that the operation of a democracy is awe-inspiring. To experience a day when 300-million-plus people bring something of moral significance to a crescendo all at once. To contemplate what goes into that, philosophically… Continue reading

Current Affairs, Election, Inclusion, Love, Middot, Prayer, Shabbat, USA
October 30, 2024

A Year of Jewish Ethics #2: Moral Psychology (and Good Enough?)

Image of superhero is designed by Freepik This series of short teachings about Jewish ethics is mostly about the “what”, the principles of action. But that can’t be disentangled from moral psychology, which is the inner experience of trying to do the right thing. Torah discusses moral psychology as well as moral principles. As the… Continue reading

A Year of Jewish Ethics, Current Affairs, Ethics, Middot, Midrash, Noach, Noah, Parashat Hashavua, Psychology, Torah, Young Jewish Adult, Youth
October 22, 2024

A Year of Jewish Ethics #1: Speech

Last Shabbat I spoke among other things about the imperative this year in particular that Jews immerse ourselves in our own teachings about ethics. To be connected and grounded as we deal with issues in the American and Jewish worlds, we need to make Jewish ethics a core of our Jewish selves. To help,… Continue reading

A Year of Jewish Ethics, Bereshit, Current Affairs, Ethics, Middot, Parashat Hashavua, Speech Ethics, Torah
October 9, 2024

Patience and Impatience — Rosh Hashanah 5785 (2024) Day 2

The number of stop signs between my home and the synagogue has more than doubled in the past ten years. And I know why the new ones were put there: because of me. I don’t mean that in an I’m-the-problem-it’s-me way. I have never caused an accident on Pine Hill Road or Courtland Street, tfft… Continue reading

Calendar, High Holidays, Holidays, Middot, Noah, Patience, Rosh Hashanah, Torah, Yamim Noraim
September 24, 2024

Back to College #2: Utilitarianism; Gender and Psychological Theory

Looking at my notes from "Justice" and Psychology today — it's neat for me to see where the terms consequentialism and utlitarianism first entered my mental landscape. Professor Sandel did a nice job (and I did a good job in my notes) capturing both the simplicity of Bentham's theory and the nuance of Mill's revisions of it,… Continue reading

College, Equality, Ethics, Feminism, Gender, Inclusion, Justice, Middot, Psychology, Young Jewish Adult
September 24, 2024

Back to College #2: Utilitarianism; Gender and Psychological Theory

Looking at my notes from "Justice" and Psychology today — it's neat for me to see where the terms consequentialism and utlitarianism first entered my mental landscape. Professor Sandel did a nice job (and I did a good job in my notes) capturing both the simplicity of Bentham's theory and the nuance of Mill's revisions of it,… Continue reading

College, Equality, Ethics, Feminism, Gender, Inclusion, Justice, Middot, Psychology, Young Jewish Adult
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
November 10, 2023

Seven Years Old, Twenty Years Old, One Hundred Years Old

This is the D’var Torah I plan to give tomorrow for Parashat Chayei Sarah 5784, November 11, 2023. One of the weekly Divrei Torah that are always worth a look comes from Rabbi Josh Feigelson, leader of the Institute for Jewish Spirituality. This week Josh started by talking about the idea of the “multiverse”, which… Continue reading

Chayei Sarah, Current Affairs, Gaza, Hope, Israel, Middot, Parashat Hashavua, Torah
September 20, 2023

My Rosh Hashanah Sermons (5784/2023)

Read or watch/listen: Click to read the text of the sermons: Day 1 — Glimmers Day 2 — Through Regret Or watch or listen on YouTube: Continue reading

Calendar, Ethics, Foregiveness, High Holidays, Holidays, Hope, Joy, Middot, Peace, Prayer, Ritual, Rosh Hashanah, Spirituality, Tikkun Olam, Torah, Tzedakah, Tzedek, Yamim Noraim, Young Jewish Adult, Youth
August 28, 2023

My Magnum Opus on Teshuvah and “The Good Place”

I've put out post a Tov! podcast episode and an identical written piece, encompassing just about everything I can think of about how The Good Place on TV illustrates, elaborates, and even improves on a core teaching of Maimonides about teshuvah, the core Jewish metaphor and practice around personal change! Continue reading

Calendar, Elul, Ethics, Hakarat Hatov, High Holidays, Holidays, Jewish Education, Maimonides, Middot, Rosh Hashanah, Television, Tov! Podcast, Yom Kippur