Bitterness and Blessings
This week’s Torah portion includes one of the most beautiful and moving passages in the Torah, and another that is …
Category Archives: Weekly Torah portion
In the Wilderness: society run amok
When I wrote to my congregation from Jerusalem last week, I said that Israel is a complicated place. As I …
Building God’s House
I was in Israel last week, and while walking in Jerusalem with a friend I suddenly lost my bearings and …
Holy Speech
The Bible may be a massive volume with more than 600 commandments, but for me, its message is encapsulated in …
You’ve Come a Long Way Baby… Sorta
The following is the sermon I gave at my synagogue on 4/20/18. Remember the Virginia Slims cigarette ads, when there …
Job Security for the Biblical Priests
One of the weirdest things about the book of Leviticus is the job of the priests. They seem to be …
Finding Relevance in the Mundane
A cursory reading of Leviticus could lead you to think that it’s all about the biblical priesthood and tedious details …
Complex Issues Deserve Thoughtful Solutions
I was at a meeting of the local Ministerial Association this week, and the 50+ clergy were talking about the …
Speaking Out
When it comes to teenagers, adults have a double standard. Our youth can serve in the military at age 17, …
It’s up to us. All of us.
My daughter Sarah Jane is a high school English teacher in Seoul, South Korea. Whenever I tell someone where she …
