Religious Liberties
Perhaps Nat King Cole was wrong. Perhaps there never really were “lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer….days of soda and pretzels and beer.” The summer of 1969, for example, was far from lazy, though at times it was indeed hazy and crazy. Neil Armstrong. Woodstock. Charles Manson. Chappaquiddick. Despite what we want to believe, ha-olam k’minhago holech, the world keeps moving forward with little regard for human conventions such as calendars. Instead of quietly going on a vacation, Israel Education Minister Rafi Peretz recently embraced conversion therapy as a reasonable means of “treating”... Read More
In the Xinjiang Uyghur autonomous region in northwest China, the religious life of the Uyghur Muslim community has been almost completely destroyed. Between one and three million Uyghur Muslims have been arrested or detained because of their religion, and government minders and mass surveillance keep the Uyghur community under constant watch. Mosques stand empty because of the presence of state police. Since 2016, dozens of internment camps have been built, filled, and expanded, and individuals living in the Xinjiang have little ability to communicate with family outside the area. There... Read More
Last week I was listening to an NPR discussion of the early days of our republic. The commentator asserted that it is reasonable to be highly suspicious of the motivations behind what came to be known as the American Revolution. As the clouds of war darkened the lives of those British citizens who called themselves patriots, the real beneficiaries of the prolonged conflict might very well have been the wealthy white male slave owners in the southern states. But there is a proof text that conclusively shows that the leaders of the revolution were motivated by a vision of a better world, a... Read More
Several months ago, I joined Women of the Wall (WOW) at the Kotel (the Western Wall) for Rosh Chodesh for the Hebrew month of Adar II, as I do at the beginning of every month. WOW is a feminist organization that fights for the right of women to pray according to their own practice at the Western Wall. That particular Friday morning was WOW’s 30th anniversary, so we knew we would encounter resistance. I awoke full of anxiety and excitement. If only I’d known what was to come. Generally, ultra-Orthodox women and girls from certain sects try to drown out our voices as we sing and pray. To... Read More
Once again, we mourn - in sadness, in anger, but not with surprise. Acts of violence, hatred and terror affect us all, and they also happen in a particular place and time. Chabad of Poway lost a member of their community over the weekend. Their sacred space was defiled with a centuries-old hatred newly reinvigorated. The Jewish community mourns with Chabad, and together we will rise. Am Yisrael Chai. Let us also remember that events like these do not happen in isolation. Before the sun rose over San Diego on April 27 we were already in mourning - for the 250 killed in... Read More
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