Hallel in Peril
As we approach Rosh Chodesh Kislev, Monday evening and Tuesday, how can we recite Hallel — joyous psalms of praise — in fear for the State…
Read articleBetween Egypt and Sinai
On Saturday evening we finish counting three weeks of the Omer. With four more weeks to go, we have metaphorically left Egypt behind, but — on…
Read articleHallel in a Minor Key
This Hallel is for singing praises in times of struggle or sorrow. “Hallel in a Minor Key” is the name of both the liturgy and the…
Read articlePraise, Praise
A hallelujah song, with two acrostic paragraphs each spelling the word ‘praise.’ It’s also a salute to the psalms of praise in Jewish liturgy known as…
Read articleGuest Writer: Rabbi Karyn Kedar
Rabbi Karyn Kedar is a friend who has developed a set of Omer counting tools, both from my publisher, CCAR Press, the book “Omer: A Counting”…
Read articleShofetim: To the Streets
One of Torah’s famous instructions appears in this week’s parsha: “Justice, justice shalt thou pursue…” (Deut. 16:20) The context is establishing a legal system, but our ethos…
Read articleExodus, Again and Again
For Passover, a new prayer for peace and endurance in the face of existential threat, set in the context of history. It’s a reminder of our…
Read articleTo the Streets, Revised
This is a call to leaders to leave the safety and cloister of their institutions, to go into the streets to learn from the anguish of…
Read articleBring Back Our Girls: A Prayer
Nearly 300 teenage girls were abducted from their school in Nigeria more than three weeks ago. Their supposed crime: advancing themselves through education, dreaming of becoming doctors,…
Read articleRedeeming My Life
This is meditation on personal freedom, recognizing that we must first forgive ourselves for our own mistakes and misdeeds before we can fully express love and…
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