Bal Tash’chit: Preserving the Earth
“The Holy Blessing One took the first human and, passing before all the trees of the Garden of Eden, said, “See My works. How fine and excellent they are All that I created. I created for you. Consider...
View ArticleOur God and the God of our Ancestors
At the outset, I must confess that I have no desire to persuade others to believe in God the way I do or for the reasons I do. I offer only my own perceptions of God. In addition, I cannot adhere...
View ArticleRodef Shalom: Seek Peace and Pursue It
The whole Torah exists only for the sake of shalom. — The Talmud War is so unreasonable and wasteful a method of adjusting human differences that one wonders that men would have resorted to the...
View ArticleWe need Mishpakhah, not family values
My ruminations about family life and my lifetime of being a father come at a propitious time. This has been a time in which pastors, pundits, and politicians of all stripes and ideologies have grasped...
View ArticleHanukkah Inspirations: Some Lessons from Hanukkah
1. The first flame is the bravest. Alone it risks taking on the darkness, knowing that it won’t be as solitary tomorrow. The light wins. 2. Second Night. Not yet a pattern, but now we have a direction:...
View ArticleTza’ar Ba’alei Hayyim: Compassion to Animals
When we first moved back to California, my wife Elana, gave me the gift I had wanted for years: a puppy. Fond memories of the dog of my childhood had to suffice during my years as a college student,...
View ArticleNot about assimilation: A response to Art Green
Changes in our Conservative Jewish rabbinical curriculum have nothing to do with Hebrew College’s policy on intermarriage
View ArticleFacts and Values — Inseparable and Entwined
The task seems explicit: Moses instructs a select group of the leaders of Israel’s tribes to conduct a scouting expedition into the Promised Land. There, they are to observe carefully and return with...
View ArticleWe All Benefit from Those Who Choose Judaism
I remember a regular spring ritual I used to practice when I was still a congregational rabbi. The event took place early on a Sunday morning in the spring, as thirty eager people and I carpooled down...
View ArticleUnder God’s Wings (& Ours): Conversion & Outreach
Jewish life is nothing if not interesting! We are a religion, yet we retain historical and emotional ties to the Land of Israel and a shared destiny. We are a people, but we cherish a set of holy...
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