Hear Our Voice

In the final verses of last week’s Torah portion, Balak, the Torah retells the story of Pinchas, a biblical figure who takes up arms and acts as a vigilante on behalf of Moses and God. Some of the Israelite men had been, according to the text, "whoring” with Moabite women, in a cultic worship of the Canaanite god, Baal-peor.  God instructs Moses to instruct the tribal chiefs to gather those men and slay them as...Read more...

A few weeks ago, I had the distinct opportunity to join 300 rabbinic and cantorial colleagues for “Recharging Reform Judaism,” at the Stephen Wise Free Synagogue (SWFS) in NYC.  In an effort to challenge, or inspire, or awaken (take your pick) the largest synagogue organization anywhere in the world outside of Israel, this conference set its sights on re-rooting Reform Judaism in Jewish text, tradition, and a greater sense...Read more...

My son just graduated from the University of Michigan with a Bachelors degree in Political Science.  We were at The Big House (football stadium) for the giant commencement ceremonies and we witnessed the anti-Israel demonstration performed by 100 or so keffiyeh-clad students. I was annoyed.  So, from the ceremonies, I posted the following message on Facebook:

“At...Read more...

Tonight we celebrate the Exodus from Egypt. For thousands of years, Jews have been celebrating this moment that sets the trajectory for the Jewish people. It’s hard to really tell the chicken from the egg in this case. Have we made the ritual of remembering slavery a bug or a feature of Jewish life? It’s certainly hard to know. 

Our history of miraculous survival is only miraculous because so many forces...Read more...

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I never much understood Holocaust denialism.  It seemed to me that the very people who enacted the Holocaust, and the very people, who believe today and since then, that the decimation, for example, of 90% of Poland’s Jews (at the start of war, there were 3 Million Jewish Poles, and in 1945, there were less than 300,000, and today there are barely 30,000)...Read more...

What is the alternative?  That is what I keep asking myself and others.  And nobody screaming “ceasefire,” has a quality answer.  Finally, the US is calling upon the UN Security Council for a ceasefire that requires the return of all hostages.  Why is this so anathema?  Shouldn’t this be the obvious requirement?  

If Hamas wants Israel to halt its attacks launched in...Read more...

“PopPop may have warned of the persecution and hate that comes with being Jewish. But having experienced the most utterly violent form of that hate, he remained a deeply kind-hearted person, an adoring grandfather and colorful painter who was fiercely proud of his Judaism. I’ve tried to follow his example of leading with an open heart as I’ve learned about Judaism, and it’s only strengthened my conviction that as a Jew...Read more...

There’s this terrific scene in the 1979 movie, The Frisco Kid, when Reb Avram (Gene Wilder) and Cowboy Bank Robber, Tommy Lillard (Harrison Ford) are taken captive by native Americans, and threaten to kill Reb Avram if he won’t give up the Torah he is charged by his 19th century Polish shtiebel (village), to bring to a small Jewish community in California.  Even at the threat of being burnt over a pyre, Reb Avram doesn’t...Read more...

Until 3pm every Monday, anyone can sign up to make a statement before the Houston City Council, during “Public Comment” which takes place on Tuesdays at 2pm. Under normal circumstances, individuals can sign up for public comment of 1, 2 or 3-minute duration. But as Mayor Turner explained, when there are public comment sign-ups that in total exceed more than 150 minutes, the city council moves to limit all speakers to only one...Read more...