Category: Other

Volunteer service, for many Jewish young adults in particular, is the primary way they express their Jewish values and embody some of our most ancient teachings. Yet service alone is not a sustainable path of ongoing meaningful engagement nor…

Faith feels exceptionally close to the surface for me right now.

This week, Torah has felt alive and immediate. Written for this moment — when the war feels unresolved, when every body is brought home from Gaza, and we are waiting: to see…

Isn’t it wonderful to be able to pray and praise with song? As we know that is not always the case. In fact in this week’s portion of Beshalach, Shabbat Shira, the timeless tense reality brings many forms of prayer, sometimes even in…

The details of the exodus from Egypt, was filled with drama. There was the great excitement of finally being released from bondage after 210 years. The Jewish people left with great haste and did not have time to allow their dough to rise….

ECHOES OF SEPHARAD

Late 15th Century
Rabbi Eliezer Between Híjar and Lisbon:
Reopening the Case of a Renaissance Hebrew Printer

Between 1489 and 1492, Lisbon briefly hosted one of Europe’s most sophisticated Hebrew presses, run by the…

It was negative 20 degrees outside in Minneapolis last week—so cold my eyelashes were frozen—but the temperature did not stop me and thousands of people from being out in the streets. I flew to Minneapolis to participate in a massive day…

Israel and the World’s Unhealthy Fixation

Israel is one of the smallest countries on earth. Roughly the size of New Jersey. Fewer than ten million citizens. No oil wealth, no imperial ambitions, no desire to rule others. And yet no other…

In a few days we will be celebrating Tu Be’Shvat – one of the minor holidays on the Jewish calendar. In Israel, though, it has lately taken on special resonance for a couple of reasons that indicate important, related trends in Israeli…

Let’s start this week’s Table Talk with a trivia-istic question for the table:

What did the Quakers call the names of the week and why?

The answer: “First Day,” “Second Day,” and so on.

But why?

Before we answer, here’s a…

Carrying through on regime change in Iran is the key to success for the Trump foreign policy worldwide. He can’t afford to fall short this time,

Carrying through in Iran would deprive Hamas and Hezbollah of the only power that gives them…