Category: Ethics And Law

The Western Wall is Not a Golden Calf (P. Ki Tisa)

3/1/2026

I hadn't planned to write a D'var Torah this week. Rather than write a new D'var Torah this week, I planned to repost last year's teaching about the Golden Calf in civil society. But developments in Israel compel me to speak – clearly and bluntly – to affirm Judaism's core values of pluralism and gender equality. At stake are Israel's identity and the Western Wall's spirituality itself, lest each risk becoming just another Golden Calf.

Justice and a World Blind and Toothless (P. Mishpatim)

2/8/2026

In a world of passive aggression, physical and emotional aggression, and mounting societal outrage, there can be instinctive allure to Torah's "eye for an eye" maxim about justice.

Except it doesn't mean what the millennia made it out to mean. What principles should guide us in addressing bad behavior? When – if ever – does "like" merit "like"?

"The Way They Will Walk" (P. Yitro)

2/1/2026

When I was a Harvard graduate student lo many years ago, person-sized Biblical words about law looked down on me every day from atop one of the academic buildings.

They look down on me still – and on you, and on our country.

Hearing the Unheard (P. Vayishlah)

11/30/2025

Sometimes received religious traditions fail to hear the voice of suffering. Even worse, received traditions can suppress the voice of suffering.

It happens because every religion, by definition, titrates high principle through inherently limited and flawed human capacity.

What is our duty in response?

Power Moves and the Rule of Law (P. Shoftim)

8/24/2025

Current concern about eroding the rule of law is perhaps unprecedented in modern history.
Jewish spirituality anticipated the concern 3,000 years ago, and ancient wisdom points our way forward now at this pivotal moment.

The Bitterness of Judgment (P. Nasso)

6/1/2025

To accuse another is a big deal spiritually, and we all do it more than we realize. Even when we do not express a negative judgment, harboring one alters one's energetics. Leveling the accusation aloud can be more "honest," and also more impactful on the relationship.

This week's Torah portion goes there in the most intimate and impactful of ways.

The Western Wall is Not a Golden Calf (P. Ki Tisa)

Justice and a World Blind and Toothless (P. Mishpatim)

"The Way They Will Walk" (P. Yitro)

Hearing the Unheard (P. Vayishlah)

Power Moves and the Rule of Law (P. Shoftim)

The Bitterness of Judgment (P. Nasso)

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