Choosing Life for Us and Our World It’s wonderful and deep that on Yom Kippur, the section of the Torah read in many Reform congregations…
Posts published in “Chavurah”
Facing the Music: How I Regained My Faith after a Life-Changing Injury On the night of January 21, 2005, a drunk driver paralyzed me. I…
A Familiar Conversation with a Family Twist It’s a conversation I had had hundreds of times in my 44 years as a Jewish educator. However,…
“All About Nina” and the Jewish Imperative to Believe Survivors This week marks the digital and DVD release of All About Nina, a film by writer/director…
Remembering Amos Oz, Israel’s Rock Star of Tolerance Amos Oz was a world-renowned Israeli writer, whose work expresses the complexity, the tragedy, and the wonder…
On Global Jewish Responsibility: Putting the Olam in Tikkun Olam God created human beings to partner with God to shape a world of justice and…
Vandals Destroyed Our Sanctuary, but Not Our Spirit Recently, a bully breached the fence surrounding Congregation Natan Ya, a Progressive synagogue in Israel, and stuck…
A Brief History of Jews and Presidential Politics American Jewish leaders used to insist that there is no such thing as “Jewish politics,” but their…
Why Shtisel Should be Your Next Binge-Watch I escaped a winter blast outside to watch a few episodes of the Israeli television series, Shtisel, now…
An Introvert’s Guide to Purim: How to Enjoy a Sometimes-Overwhelming Holiday As an introvert, I find being around people can be so draining. How, then,…
Food, Faith, and Family: Three Poems for Passover “You won’t smell soup cooking yet / or cake or kugel or tzimmes baking / on the day before…
The Four Questions I’m Asking About Israel This Year Living in Israel demands that I ask myself four new and difficult questions this Passover. 4/23/2019…
My Big, Fat, Multi-Ethnic Jewish Wedding We knew we wanted our wedding to be a reflection of us and for our families to be woven…
What the New “Avengers” Movie Taught Me About Self-Worth The film got me thinking about how Judaism has affected my own “story arc,” particularly my…
The Hostage Crisis in Iran and My Humanitarian Journey There Several months after the Iran hostage crisis began in 1979, I participated with other clergy…
See Something, Say Something: Having the Courage to Name Implicit Biases As a rabbi, who also happens to be a woman, I am living through…
How and Why I’m So Committed to Teaching My Kids to Value Diversity Now that I’m a parent, teaching my children about racism, classism, and…
Why Are Reform Institutions in Israel Important to Us? On a recent visit to Haifa’s Leo Baeck Education Center, I was reminded of the collaborative…
Writing From the Edge: Calls for Inclusion in New Israeli Poetry Israeli poet Adi Keissar’s description of the world – the messed-up world – rings…
The Centrality of Israel’s Declaration of Independence In a forthcoming book, Rabbi Eric Yoffie and Dr. Ruth Gavison parsed what is at the heart of…