Separation from Cain: Naso 5780
“When a man or a woman commits any wrong toward a fellow person, thus breaking faith with the Lord, and that person realizes their guilt, they shall confess the wrong that they have done. They shall...
View ArticleComplicity and Conscience: Rosh Hodesh Tammuz 5780
The Torah says that Caleb ben Yifuneh was blessed with “a different spirit,” and that this differentiation allowed him alone to survive the curse of death in the desert. At Numbers 14:23, God tells...
View ArticleRemembering Rabbi Steinsaltz z”l
Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz has been a towering presence in my Jewish learning for the past forty years. I did not have the privilege of knowing him personally, but I feel that he has been my steadiest...
View ArticleWho’s a False Witness? Shoftim 5780
Honesty is the bedrock of justice. Legal proceedings to determine innocence or guilt, obligation or exemption, depend on honest and truthful testimony. For this reason, the Decalogue includes the...
View ArticleCovenantal Judaism: Ki Tavo 5780
About fifteen years ago Rabbi David Wolpe suggested that Conservative Judaism be rebranded as Covenantal Judaism. At the time and since, I felt this to be the most attractive solution to our brand...
View ArticleThe Gates of Tears: Nitzavim VaYelekh 5780
A student touched me deeply today when I opened our Zoom meeting and found them weeping. “Why are you crying?” I asked. They said, “How can I stand before my community and lead them in prayer when such...
View ArticleA note of confusion: Shabbat Rosh HaShanah 5781
Do you find the shofar service confusing? Good, because it is supposed to be that way! Many rabbinic traditions about shofar, such as blowing it daily for a month prior, but then stopping the day...
View ArticleYom Kippur 5781: By Consent of the High Court
Kol Nidre begins with a dramatic declaration, “by consent of the court on high, and by consent of the court below, we permit prayer with transgressors.” This formula is attested already in the circle...
View ArticleRebounding from Crisis with Strength: Bereshit 5781
Like millions of American children in the 1970s, I tuned in weekly to ABC’s Wide World of Sports. The opening sequence showed skiers gracefully racing down a mountain, and then spectacularly wiping out...
View ArticleMiracle of Miracles: Noah 5781
What to make of miracles? They are among the most dramatic and beloved features of biblical narratives, but are distant from what most believe about reality. Wait, are they? Many modern people operate...
View ArticleAn Activist Covenant: Lekh Lekha 5781
Destiny is a seductive concept. The idea that our personal and even national history is somehow predetermined can be comforting, especially when hazards abound and the best path forward is hard to...
View ArticleDreaming of the Future: Vayera 5781
Once again the pollsters blew it. As in 2016, so in 2020, predictions about election results have born little resemblance to the outcome. Why are we surprised? It is hard enough to describe events that...
View ArticleMaking Love in the Field: Hayei Sarah 5781
Isaac went out to meditate in the field toward evening. He raised his eyes and saw camels approaching (Gen. 24:63). This scene, this moment before Isaac and Rebecca first meet, is dramatic and full of...
View ArticleThanksgiving in the Face of Sorrow: Vayetze 5781
On the face of it, Leah has been dealt a dreadful hand. Her marriage to Jacob was born of subterfuge, and the Torah relates that “God saw that Leah was hated, and opened her womb, but Rachel was...
View ArticleEarthy Expertise: Vayishlah 5781
Here is a verse on which I have never commented before: “These were the descendants of Seir the Horite who were settled in the land: Lotan, and Shoval, Tzivon Anah. Dishon, Ezer, and...
View ArticleMenorah Meditations: Hanukkah 5781
Aryeh Kaplan’s classic book, Jewish Meditation presents many techniques for focusing one’s attention in order to perceive dimensions of reality that are otherwise hidden. I love his discussion of the...
View ArticleTrue leadership: Humility, Compassion, Integrity. Shemot 5781
What was Moses doing just before his first divine encounter? The Torah’s description seems quotidian, utterly unremarkable. He was tending Jethro’s flock, and “he drove the flock into the wilderness...
View ArticleHopping Mad in Mitzrayim: Va’Era 5781
Here come the plagues: blood, frogs, vermin…. The first triad relates to the Nile, whose “bloody” waters (reddened perhaps from sediment and algae washed down by heavy rains from the Ethiopian...
View ArticleSworn to Sacred Service: Bo 5781
The most powerful ritual in American life is the oath of office administered to our President. The text is prescribed by the Constitution, but its choreography is a matter of convention. Most...
View ArticleOh Freedom: Bishalah 5781
Oh, freedom, Oh, freedomOh freedom over meAnd before I’d be a slaveI’d be buried in my graveAnd go home to my Lord and be free These stirring words from the post-Civil War anthem have been recorded and...
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