Blog Archives

Vows in a World Unhinged... and a World Redeemed (P. Matot-Masei)

7/28/2024

The High Holy Days – the Season of Meaning, the timeless Jewish call to repentance and repair. Rosh Hashanah and especially Yom Kippur always come too soon: we're never quite ready. We might even spend the summer in denial.

What came of last year's vows – the promises we made to ourselves and each other, our commitment that this time we'd be different? Inner walls have a way of regrowing and old habits die hard. Naturally we develop amnesia ...

... that is, until something reminds us.

How "Women's Lib" Began (P. Pinhas)

7/21/2024

Judaism is all about collective transformation. The Jewish narrative continually has "transformed" its "collective" from a first human eventually to all humans. At the same time, the Jewish narrative continually has "transformed" roles and rights within the "collective," in fits and starts striving for dignity and equality for all.

At its best, Judaism's social justice ethic does both at the same time – which is how "women's lib" began.

The Sacred "No" and the "Devil" We Know (P. Balak)

7/14/2024

"Balaam and the Angel" (Jaeger, 1836)

We yearn for "yes" – a benevolent Power that answers prayers, cures the ill, heals the world and satisfies wants.

Countless many have lost faith (and sometimes found it again) after encountering a spiritual "no" when they yearned for "yes." It takes courage, maturity and wisdom to be in relationship with a "God of no" – which, it turns out, flips a key Western belief image on its head.

Our Sacred Cows (P. Hukat)

7/7/2024

Amidst spirituality's search for certainty, we can come to believe that some truths, perspectives, practices, methods and systems can't be questioned and can't be changed. In a sense, we turn them into sacred cows.

But Torah teaches that there are no sacred cows. And in Torah's "Jedi"-like way, she does so using... a sacred cow.

Rabbi's Corner – July 2024: Spirituality on the Slow

7/1/2024

When I began with Shir Ami one year ago, the "early" High Holy Days were fast approaching. Our first months together sometimes felt like launching off an aircraft carrier.

This year, we get a real summer. Rosh Hashanah won't be until October. This summer, we get to take it slow. What's spirituality on the slow?

Vows in a World Unhinged... and a World Redeemed (P. Matot-Masei)

How "Women's Lib" Began (P. Pinhas)

The Sacred "No" and the "Devil" We Know (P. Balak)

Our Sacred Cows (P. Hukat)

Rabbi's Corner – July 2024: Spirituality on the Slow

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