Proudly Jewish - Proudly Progressive
Proudly Jewish - Proudly Progressive
Chaverim, The pursuit of justice is one of the most frequently repeated concerns, and not only of the Torah, but of Jewish tradition. The teaching is to pursue justice in dealing with social, political, and international matters. In addition, Jewish…
In this week’s Torah portion, the daughters of Zelophehad petition to inherit their father’s portion. The story of Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah (Numbers 27:1-11) encapsulates the challenges that women faced and what they had to do in order…
Chaverim, This coming Sunday we will observe Shavuot, the day we celebrate receiving the Torah. Unique among our holidays, it has no specific mitzvah associated with it. With no shofar, seder, Chanukah candles or sukkah, there is little to grab…
Chaverim, Many Reform siddur editors have been bothered by the biblical language of retribution as they appear in our Torah portion Bechukotai and in various parts of Deuteronomy. The same holds true for many congregants. On the Shabbatot when these…
Chaverim, After several chapters about purity and the sacrificial system, our Torah portion “Behar”, feels it necessary to refer back once again to the time of the revelation of the Torah. This chapter appears as if it is an afterthought, something…
Chaverim, The point of being Jewish is to have a relationship with God. Yet, a relationship implies a certain give and take, and there is precious little in the Torah that talks about what we have that God could possibly…
Chaverim, Once again we are mourning and raging after an anti-Semitic attack on a synagogue over the weekend. I have been and remain determined not to give any anti-Semite the victory they want in any way. Whenever they want to…
Many of us know that Passover takes place during the Hebrew month of Nisan. In contrast, most of us do not know that the month of Nisan also includes another observance which begins on the second day of Passover. In…
25 years after the first democratic election. Many things have changed since then, and still much more needs to change, bringing more healing and more equality to our country. Therefore, it is no wonder that campaigning has returned to South…
The portions of Tazria and Metzora are perhaps, for many of you, very uncomfortable portions of the Torah, dealing with all kinds of issues related to ritual purity and impurity. Ritual impurity, or tumah, has nothing to do with hygiene.…