Speech Ethics

May 29, 2026

How to Bless With Our Most Ancient Blessing (Parashat Naso 5786)

This is the draft of my D’var Torah for May 30, 2026, Parashat Naso. We are celebrating the arrival of a newborn so that’s both a good occasion for talking about this particular text, and referenced in my words. I want to start with a story that is in the top five of stories I… Continue reading

Blessing, History, Jerusalem, Naso, Parashat Hashavua, Parenting, Speech Ethics, Spirituality, Teens, Torah, Young Jewish Adult, Youth

Parenting
April 24, 2026

The Name in the Holy of Holies — What the Yom Kippur Ritual Teaches About Words

This is my D’var Torah for April 25, 2026, Parashiyyot Acharei Mot-Kedoshim, particularly chapters 16 and 19 of Leviticus. (If you’re reading it right away, I have to go and fix up where italics go to make it easier to read.) Imagine a world where the more important a word was, the harder it was… Continue reading

Acharei Mot, Kedoshim, Lashon Hara, Middot, Parashat Hashavua, Speech Ethics, Torah, Yom Kippur
December 25, 2025

Negotiations and Love Songs (Parashat Vayiggash 5782)

This was the D’var Torah I gave for Parashat Vayiggash in 5782, on December 11, 2021. Some of what I said then was specific to that moment in the Covid-19 pandemic, but I’m leaving that in now as an example of the broader themes and messages of my D’var Torah. On Paul Simon’s 1983 album… Continue reading

Anger, Coronavirus, Current Affairs, Negotiation, Parashat Hashavua, Speech Ethics, Torah, Vayiggash
November 6, 2025

Before the Flood: A D’var Torah About Noach

This was my D’var Torah a couple weeks ago, about Parashat Noach and the lead-up to the Flood, on October 25, 2025. I’m late in sharing it. One way to look at the big arcs of the Torah is as a series of thought experiments. Each big story is a version of the world or… Continue reading

Current Affairs, Ethics, Midrash, Noach, Noah, Parashat Hashavua, Speech Ethics, Torah, Yonah
May 8, 2025

A Year of Jewish Ethics #15: Gossip (Lashon Ha-Ra)

How does Torah define gossip? The dictionaries in English describe gossip as talking about people behind their backs, usually in an uncomplimentary way; or spreading rumors about people without knowing whether something is true; or sharing private details about someone without their permission. Gossip seems like a casual kind of talking, though of course the… Continue reading

A Year of Jewish Ethics, Ethics, Gossip, Kedoshim, Lashon Hara, Maimonides, Metzora, Middot, Parashat Hashavua, Speech Ethics, Tazria, 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
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
October 18, 2023

What Happened at Al Alhi Hospital in Gaza, and Why the Truth of It Matters

The explosion at the Al Alhi Hospital in Gaza was unquestionably a massive tragedy, and why and how it happened in the context of war probably matters little to the families of the dead and wounded. To all of them, our prayers for healing and consolation. For the rest of us, how it happened… Continue reading

Antisemitism, Community Relations, Current Affairs, Ethics, Gaza, Israel, Leadership, Speech Ethics
October 1, 2022

My Rosh Hashanah Sermons From Last Week

Here are my sermons from Rosh Hashanah 5783: First day:Help Me Talk About What I've Been Through and Who I Am Second day:Right-ology: How to Be Right Better in the New Year Wishing everyone a Shana Tova Umetukah, a good and sweet new year! Continue reading

Calendar, Coronavirus, Current Affairs, Election, Elul, Ethics, Gratitude, Hakarat Hatov, High Holidays, Holidays, Hope, Middot, Midrash, Prayer, Rosh Hashanah, Soul, Speech Ethics, Spirituality, Synagogue, Talmud, Teacher-Student Relationship, Television, Teshuvah, Theology, Torah, Tov! Podcast, USA, Yamim Noraim
June 28, 2022

The Latest Religion and Schools Supreme Court Decision (and No More Government Benedictions for Me)

Posted June 27, 2022 on Facebook, so not quite as tight as what I usually write. This is what the top of my head looks like today and through next Monday at least, July 4. No matter what’s happened recently, I am celebrating our independence, freedom, and democracy, and wearing that above me as… Continue reading

#integratingamerica, Community Relations, Current Affairs, Education, Equality, Freedom, History, Inclusion, Interfaith Dialogue, Justice, Leadership, Peace, Speech Ethics, Tzedek, USA, Youth
April 26, 2022

Tov! Chapters 19 and 20 — Classic Themes of the Trolley Problem, Lying, and Friendship

Chapter 19: How to Learn From the Trolley Problem On “The Good Place” Michael turns the famous trolley problem into another form of torture for Chidi, while Jason says being mean to someone who is being nice to you is bad but he can’t put his finger on why. On the podcast, Geoff Mitelman (rabbi/science… Continue reading

Education, Ethics, Jewish Education, Speech Ethics, Study, Tov! Podcast