If our synagogue communities are going to survive, we have no choice but to step up in a big way.
Once a rabbi starts to promote specific policies to address societal ills, the message becomes a source of communal division. Two people can share a concern for a problem without agreeing on the solution. Once a rabbi picks a side on solutions, we’re back to divisive partisanship.
Yom Kippur counts on us to feel vulnerable. It is through feeling vulnerable that we open the hidden vessels of growth and healing.
As we honor the extraordinary legacy of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, as we recall her trailblazing accomplishments, as we sit shivah for a Jewish and American hero, let us not forget the part of her legacy that speaks directly to our divisive times.
The deep contemplation that Rosh Hashanah demands is enhanced by the Shabbat experience.
The Jews have learned through the millennia that to keep the flame of hope alive during dark times, resilience is not a choice but an imperative.
I’m looking back at my life of 2020 and realizing that I’ve been given new eyes.
Of course, we can never recapture that singular moment of unity from 19 years ago, nor should we need another moment of tragedy to be what brings us together. But because we are so incredibly divided today, perhaps the memory of 9/11 can help us temper our divisions so they don’t turn into irreversible animosity.
Israel-haters must not be very happy these days. All of a sudden, the big lie that nourished their anti-Zionist venom for so long is slipping away.
The Israelis I’ve met over the years who are involved with humanitarian work rarely talk about PR or branding. That’s not what drives them. What drives them is a sense of doing meaningful stuff.
