Proudly Jewish - Proudly Progressive
Proudly Jewish - Proudly Progressive
It’s mid-summer. Many of us are still brushing sand from our shoes, planning weekend barbecues, or scrolling through photos of mountains, beaches, and ice creams. The air feels slow, even the synagogue seems to exhale a little in August. And…
Shabbat Chazon and Tisha B’Av This Shabbat is called Shabbat Chazon, the Shabbat of Vision. But it’s not the comforting, inspiring kind of vision we might expect from a sacred day of rest. The vision we receive comes from the…
Balak feared what he could not control. He saw the Israelites from afar, numerous, restless, full of stories he didn’t know. And so he did what frightened rulers have often done. He summoned a voice to curse them. He hired…
A statement for visibility. Queer Jews and their allies belong at Pride.
"Miriam died there and was buried there. The community had no water, and they assembled against Moses and Aaron." (Numbers 20:1-2)
In this week’s parasha, we encounter more than a leadership challenge. Some mystical sources reveal Korach as the reincarnation of Cain, while Moses carries the spirit of Abel. That ancient sibling tale of envy, wounded entitlement, and primal rage reappears…
In this sermon, Rabbi Adrian Schell continues the courageous conversation taking place in his community, addressing grief, moral disorientation, and hope in turbulent times. Drawing on Numbers Chapter 10, he explores the symbolic power of the silver trumpets: tools that…
The dust of the sanctuary says: You belong here too.
We know the wilderness well in our tradition. It's the place where Israel wandered, lost and disoriented. A place of testing and trial, but also of revelation. Sinai happened in the wilderness, not in the comfort of a promised land. Elijah found God not in the fire or the storm, but in the still small voice, alone, broken, and afraid in the desert.
So, what does it mean for someone today to find themselves in such a wilderness?
The Sabbath and Shmita teach us that the land is not merely our resource, but our partner in God's covenant—a caregiver that Resh Lakish likens to a devoted handmaiden raising the king's children. When we honour the earth's need for rest, we rediscover our own worth beyond productivity, learning to breathe not as owners, but as kin in a world yearning to be whole.