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The president of the congregation met me at the airport. It was late summer, 2000, my first visit to Hebrew Union Congregation, my new biweekly student pulpit in Greenville, MS. No sooner had we...
On Wednesday, July 2nd, we will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the landmark legislation that outlawed discrimination based on race, color,...
My first active involvement in the civil rights movement was on March 25, 1965: the final day of the five-day march from Selma to Montgomery, led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
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"Knock, knock."
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I sat down last week to write about what happened in Ferguson. As I began to write, there was no doubt in my mind that there would be a “next time” as soon as we hit the next news cycle, if not...
Every year, on the third Monday of January, our country celebrates Martin Luther King Jr. Day by reflecting on his legacy and enjoying a day off from work. We take this time to reflect on the life...
About a month ago, I walked along a street in Memphis with 11 teens from my congregation, a chaperone and our educator, Brad Cohen. The day before, we had volunteered at the Dorothy Day House,...
The unspeakable murder of nine accomplished, beloved, and respected African-American Charlestonians of faith in their own church on Wednesday has hit our city like an earthquake.
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Two weeks ago, Charlotte’s Briar Creek Church was a victim of arson. It is less than three and half miles from my home. Their children’s choir sang at our synagogue's Martin Luther King Day service...
I know we have a long way to go, but for this congregation, situated in the city just a few miles from the Old Court House where the slave Dred Scott lost his case for freedom, I have hope that we...
If certain politicians think that March Madness has left us ripe for transformation into April Fools, they are woefully mistaken.
I'm uncomfortable entering unfamiliar synagogues - solely because I am mixed race, and people assume that I am not Jewish.
This year, Temple Emanuel of Greensboro, N.C., will hold its 22nd annual MLK Shabbat Service. Around 600 people typically attend this service, although in some years, guest speakers like civil...
Our retelling of the exodus from Egypt is incomplete if we don’t recognize that others are still enslaved. It is our moral duty to continue working for fairness for our fellow Jews and for those...
I want to slam society against the wall and shout at the top of my lungs, “This is not right! This is not just! This is not the world that we are commanded to create"
What do we read when there are no good words? As I thought about the text to teach following the tragedy at Mother Emanuel Church in Charleston, my mind fixed on the nine murdered. Murdered in...
On January 21, millions of women and supporters around the globe turned out to demonstrate peacefully for human rights and against hate. But how do we turn a moment into a movement?
On this milestone 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Reform Jewish community joins advocates nationwide in paying tribute to a generation of activists whose struggles more than...
Last night, I walked through Ferguson.
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As we mark 50 years since Dr. King was assassinated, and in thinking about his connection with Moses, I’m drawn to Dr. King’s “I’ve Been To the Mountaintop.”
Spring time is the time of Pesach, and it pleases me that the NBA playoffs coincide so neatly. The two mesh with a certain elegance.
Read one rabbi's message to his congregation about the events in Chalottesville.
I remember little of my elementary school years in Cleveland, except for one incident in the second grade. We were doing an art project in class, and I couldn’t find my scissors. When I noticed...
In their new book JewAsian: Race, Religion, and Identity for America’s Newest Jews, scholarly husband/wife team Helen Kiyong Kim and Noah Samuel Leavitt examine the intersection of race, religion,...
This past weekend in Selma, we, a group of white, upper middle-class Jews, allowed ourselves to learn about the past in new ways, acknowledging some of the worst deeds we have ever done.
This week marks the digital and DVD release of All About Nina, a film by writer/director Eva Vives and inspired by some of her own experiences.
On MLK Jr. Day, we often see a sanitized, nonconfrontational version of King that is far from the radical activist who was reviled during his time for his justice work.
The Forward's "Rabbis Riundtable" series asked 25 rabbis of all denominations to answer this difficult question. Here's how the Reform rabbis on the list respoded.
“So, what exactly is your background?”
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