Welcome to the first newsletter of the summer! I want to share some thoughts about seeing the hard things that are happening in the US. I also want to remind you that now is a great time to register for the Teshuva workshop and Webinar. In the Jewish world we begin the “Three Weeks” period today, […]
Blog
Fight Like a Mensch: Integrated Social Change
By Rabbi David Jaffe, Rabbi Rachel Timoner and Rabbi Deborah Waxman, Ph.D. June 13, 2018 This article was originally posted on eJewish Philanthropy. What was the program at the J Street National Conference, held in April, that was so pressing that every seat was taken, the floor was filled to overflow and the doors had […]
On Shavuot: “Re-Covenanting” as a Unified People
This originally appeared on the blog of ReformJudaism.org. And Israel encamped [at Sinai] as one person with one mind. — Rashi on Exodus 19:3 Remarkable unity characterized the Jewish people in the days before receiving Torah at Sinai, an event we commemorate on Shavuot, the Feast of Weeks. As a student in Jerusalem one year, I […]
How will Torah enter your heart this Shavuot?
Today is Rosh Chodesh Sivan, the month of Shavuot, when we celebrate receiving the Torah. The primary spiritual practice for this month is Torah. This is the time to rededicate to learning Torah and to pray that Torah enters your heart, and the hearts of all your loved ones in just the way needed by each […]
Creating Spiritual Community
In the Jewish community this is the month of lots of awards dinners and galas honoring people for their communal contributions. This got me thinking about the tension between personal spirituality and community. I was once traveling with my friend Steve and we were nowhere near a Jewish community. It came time for morning prayers and […]
