Why live spiritually?  Why live as a Jew – or, for that matter, in any community or system of faith or doctrine?  These are questions for the ages, ones that modernity places in particularly sharp focus. They're worth wrestling with, especially now.

/ Modern U.S. society seems to arrange some of its most important cycles of domestic life and employment in groups of seven years.  Long before there were sociologists or psychologists to confirm these trends, ancient Jewish agricultural life similarly arranged itself in arcs of seven years to replenish the land lest it become weak.  Few of… Continue reading The Seven-Year Itch (P. Behar)

We're all blemished – no exceptions.  Yet in one of Biblical tradition's most vexing admonitions, only the physically perfect could serve as spiritual priests, as representatives of the people. Society hasn't evolved far past this spiritual no-fly list, its prejudices or its offenses to equal dignity. We miss out on the great gifts that differently abled… Continue reading The So-Called Blemished Among Us: P. Emor

This month, we're on the runway to not one but two congregational weddings.  The second of them, metaphorically speaking, is next month in June, when the collective Jewish people stand at Sinai again to receive Torah anew.  In many ways, it's like a "wedding."  We'll get there shortly.On May 19, we – the Shir Ami… Continue reading Rabbi’s Corner, May 2024: Getting Married

The Jewish people are Western civilizations first "People of the Book."  Beginning with Torah, the accumulated wisdom of 3,500 years of Jewish civilization offer plenty of words to live by.That very phrase – "words to live by" – traces its roots to this week's Torah portion.  The phrase is so common that we rarely stop… Continue reading Words to Live By: P. Aharei-Mot

The freedom we celebrate at Passover is "ours."  Each year, we ritually spill a drop from our cups of joy for each of the Ten Plagues, to symbolize that we cannot drink a full cup of joy when our freedom comes at another's high cost.  So what can we say this Passover, when the price of freedom, and the cost we risk without it, both are so high?

Dayenu: "it's enough for us."  So we sing at every Passover seder.But what's enough, anyway? As Passover gathers us to celebrate freedom both ancestral and modern, what "enough" could there possibly be in liberation?  And why would such a beloved Jewish tradition offer this curious declaration?  Turns out, enough is both far more and far less… Continue reading A Story About Stories About Stories

"Why is this night different from all other nights?"  This Passover question echoes across history; it's especially poignant this year amidst war, antisemitism and so much more tugging at the Jewish spirit.  It's easy to forget that we are one people sharing a single human garment.  This year reminds that there is no true Jewish… Continue reading April, 2024 – Free, Together

The days ahead will bring a total solar eclipse launching the Hebrew month of Nissan, a full moon launching Passover and, in all likelihood, some kind of reckoning in a Mideast on fire. These times of heightened energy naturally can focus us on Big Things – our highest priorities, ultimate concerns, what transcends us, faith and… Continue reading The Strangest Fire (P. Shemini)

"Why is this night different from all other nights?"  This Passover question has echoed across history, and is especially poignant this year amidst war, antisemitism and so much more tugging at the Jewish spirit.  It's easy to forget that we are one people wearing a single human garment.  This year reminds that there is no… Continue reading Free, Together

How are guilt and taxes related, and why should we care?  Judaism's ancient bedrock offers answers that might seem outdated, but they were far ahead of their time.The Book of Leviticus opens with language that we moderns might find distant, but it offers us profound lessons about the proper roles of materialism and money in spiritual… Continue reading On Guilt and Taxes: Proudly Ahead of Our Time (Vayikra)

choose joy Emotions are complex interactions of reactions and choices.  We feel what we feel in response to thoughts and experiences, and we have at least some measure of choice in how we respond, what emotions we choose to elevate.In Jewish life, this time of year calls on us to elevate joy and lean into… Continue reading Rabbi’s Corner – March 2024 – Turning Up the Joy Dial for Purim

"Stop giving to the fund drive!" – said no community professional ever.  Yet the hearts of our spiritual ancestors were so moved to support their central community institution, the building of the Mishkan, that everyone gave until their gifts overloaded the effort.Amidst so much spiritual, emotional and ethical wisdom, Torah shines a bright light on… Continue reading Hearts of Generosity (P. Vayakhel)

Fresh off liberating miracles and the glory of experiencing the Ten Commandments, our spiritual ancestors freaked out when Moses delayed returning from atop Mount Sinai.  To assuage their fears, they had built a Golden Calf and called it the god of their liberation – thereby committing Judaism's original sin.  But before we throw stones at… Continue reading All That Glitters Isn’t God – Ki Tisa

When Judaism's most ancient ways no longer seem relevant, usually it's because modern life so fundamentally shifted that their language and symbolism simply don't resonate.  If they don't make sense to our modern sensibilities, naturally we discount or dismiss their relevance.The rituals of installing the Kohein Gadol (High Priest of Israel) are a prime example. … Continue reading An Anatomy of Spiritual Service – P. Tetzaveh

The journey from meaninglessness to identity to vision to purpose is a journey that hopefully all of us will choose to take throughout our lives.  It's the quintessential journey of personal human development.  It's also the quintessential journey of collective societal becoming. For our ancient spiritual ancestors freed from Egyptian bondage, seven weeks of desert wandering… Continue reading Coming Out to God – P. Yitro

February 2024 has no Jewish holidays.  And on both the secular calendar and Jewish calendar, February 2024 brings "leap time" – a leap day on February 29, and a whole leap month (Adar I) in Jewish time.It's as if this no-holidays month operates to re-set time, to recalibrate so that not only calendars re-align but also… Continue reading Rabbi’s Corner February 2024: resetting Time

Rescued from centuries of Egyptian bondage, our spiritual ancestors reached the Sea of Reeds.  Pharaoh changed his mind and came charging with his army.  It took a wall of fire to block them, and a miracle to split the sea so our ancestors could leave Egypt behind once and for all.We were free at last. … Continue reading Freedom! Now, What Have You Done For Me Lately? – P. Beshallah

o liberation comes easy.  In whatever form bondage may come, and whether we mean  individual or collective shackles, freedom's path always entails effort, drama, uncertainty and suffering along the way. This poignant week coinciding with Dr. Martin Luther King Day 2024, and the Torah portion of Israelite freedom from Egyptian bondage, proves the point utterly –… Continue reading Our Single Garment of Destiny