Proudly Jewish - Proudly Progressive
Proudly Jewish - Proudly Progressive
Together with the learners of our Cheder, we will open the Shavuot Festival with a joyful Service Thursday evening at 18h30. Please join in and support our cheder learners. Prof. Steven Friedman opens our night of learning with a Shiur…
This is one of the more profound theological questions. To be able to name something or someone is to have a specific relationship to it or them, even a form of control. One can call out not just “Hey, You!”…
At the beginning of 2011, while protests were happening in Egypt against the regime of Hosni Mubarak, a joke did the rounds, which claimed that the Jews had warned the Egyptians that they would refuse to rebuild the pyramids if…
The Torah portion Va’yechi is the concluding parasha of the first book of Torah, B’reishit. It ends the narrative of the founding mothers and fathers of our folk and faith, and also concludes the complex and compelling story of Joseph.…
This week’s Torah portion, Vayetzei, describes the first part of the journey of the biblical Jacob. Fleeing the wrath of his brother, whose birthright he purchased and whose blessing he stole, Jacob is “heading for the exits (Vayetzei).” As the now iconic…
Our parasha reports how Isaac was tricked by Jacob, taking advantage of his father‘s blindness, into giving him the blessing of the firstborn. But was Isaac really blind? Was he really not able to notice that it was Jacob and…
As Abraham reached the twilight of his years, our Torah portion informs us that “the Eternal had blessed Abraham in every way” (Genesis 24:1). The Rabbis were perplexed by such an assertion. No surprise! Do you know anyone on earth…
Once a year, usually mid-November, a special Shabbat is announced. The so called Shabbat Project should inspire Jews around the globe to keep Shabbat. But what does it mean “to keep Shabbat“? Technically, the laws of Shabbat can seem draconian.…
Our Torah Portion “Noach” reports twice on the downfall of humanity in the eyes of God. In the response to the first, God sends the waters of the flood, which erases all life on earth and God’s answer to the…
This Shabbat is Shabbat Shuvah, the Shabbat that falls between Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur. Our tradition teaches that the gates of repentance are always open, and we are constantly reminded that it is never too late to change one’s…