Academia and religion have been feuding for centuries, and still I find them difficult to reconcile. Obviously, the conflict has lessened. We don’t punish people for studying science, for discovering realities that diverge from religious beliefs, but...
By Rabbi Lane Steinger
• Published January 23, 2013
The Exodus story is the biblical account of the birth of the people Israel. Our Torah Portion this week, B’shalach, Exodus 13:17-17:16, relates the latter part of the Exodus saga. Chapter 15 of the Book of Exodus is the heart of this week’s parashah....
Bad things happen. They come in different levels of severity and affect everyone in different ways, but they happen nonetheless. We lose loved ones, we make mistakes, we fall ill and we say the wrong things. I mean this in the most matter-of-fact way....
It’s strange the sort of emphasis that’s put on New Years. We have 12 new months, 52 new weeks, and even 365 new days, yet so many people see January 1st as a day of redemption — when past mistakes and grievances disintegrate and we can start fresh....
In this week’s Torah portion, Vaera, God asks Moses for the fourth time to, “Go tell Pharaoh to let my people go,” to which Moses again refuses God’s command. Moses seems to be so reluctant to do God’s bidding as to be recalcitrant and rebellious. ...
My grandma is sick. I say this with overwhelming blatancy because when someone close to you falls ill, your emotions can’t beat around the bush or be comforted by euphemisms. Four months ago, she dressed herself in high heels and sequined tops to meet...
By Rabbi Roxanne J.S. Shapiro
• Published January 2, 2013
Our Torah portion, and thus this book of our Torah, is titled “Shemot” or “Names”. As we know, the title is often taken from the first few words of the portion. Yet another name that was used for this portion was “sefer yetsi’at Mitzrayim”...
By Rabbi James Stone Goodman
• Published December 26, 2012
The portion begins, Vayechi, Jacob was living, really living now, even in Egypt he is meta-alive. We want to believe as he is drawing up his legs to die that real life, full life, can happen to him anywhere, any time, any conditions. He lived in the land...
By Rachel LaVictoire
• Published December 19, 2012
Religion, by its very nature, is something that cannot be explained. While some are captivated by it, others see religion as nothing but a product of humanity’s extensive curiosity—a way of answering questions that are otherwise unanswerable. One...
By Rachel LaVictoire
• Published December 12, 2012
I was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia on August 13, 1999. For two and a half years I received weekly chemotherapy treatments at Egleston Hospital in Atlanta. Armies of chemicals marched through my body, each with direct orders from doctors and...
By Rabbi Dale Schreiber
• Published December 12, 2012
We are coming to a close in the epic stories of Genesis, highlighting incredible family dynamics and how the children of Israel descend into Egypt. This week’s Torah portion begins mid-way through the Joseph odyssey with the Hebrew word Miketz. Onkelos...
By Rabbi Brigitte Rosenberg
• Published December 5, 2012
One who acts from love is greater than one who acts from fear A few years ago, I received a Hanukkah card from CLAL (The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership), but this was not your “typical” feel-good card, rather — as CLAL generally...
