American leaders have long had an affinity for that first of the Five Books of Moses. 

Genesis’ second chapter devotes five verses to a river that emerges from humanity’s birthplace.

With Simchat Torah approaching, it’s worth noting how for centuries, Jews have turned to flags as an expression of faith that the Jewish story would continue, despite our enemies’ claims to the contrary.

This long-forgotten footnote to American history is worth considering both for its historical import and its relevancy to the current moment.

Despite a year full of distance, imperfections, disappointment, perhaps even betrayal of our very nature, on Yom Kippur we are all doves, possessing the ability to, in the end, return home.

Most striking about Bradford’s affinity for the Bible for those who hear the weekly parsha in synagogue is how Bradford drew explicitly from the Book of Deuteronomy in expressing the covenantal character of what would become, eventually, the United States.

Brandeis’ work on behalf of Zionism was not to the detriment of his American patriotism.

This Tisha b’Av, then, as we sadly commemorate the loss of the Temple in Jerusalem, we also take solace in knowing the story of Israel continues