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Why Our Synagogue Switched to Solar Power
Doing the right thing paid off at the bottom line. How often can you say that about doing a mitzvah?
Purim, the Bible, and a Vengeful God
Cruelty and bloodshed abound in the Bible as, for example, the Pharaoh's ruthless treatment of his Israelite slaves and Moses' vengeful slaying of the Egyptian taskmaster in the Passover story.
This Passover: A Season of Justice for the Environment
Passover is my favorite time of year. More than exchanging presents on Hanukkah or blowing shofar by on the beaches of the Atlantic on Rosh Hashanah (my family’s tradition), Passover is when I am most able to connect with my family and my own Jewish values. While the extended meal and Seder lend themselves easily to close interpersonal and spiritual renewal, it’s the central concepts of Passover that make me return to this time of year again and again with excitement and energy; Passover is a holiday about social justice and freedom from oppression. It is an opportunity, among family and friends, to dig deeper into the issues of our time.
Pandemic Passover, Take Two: The Long Journey through the Wilderness
Last Passover began the urgent quest to reinvent much of Jewish life, highlighting that some of the ways we “do” Judaism needed to be updated. This year has been a powerful catalyst to shifts in how we perform our holy work.
Lessons from Charoset During a Year of Pandemic
As we enjoy this year’s sweet charoset, let us cherish and express our gratitude for the essential workers, medical professionals, everyday heroes, and others who provided the sweetness that helped temper the bitters we tasted this year.
This New Reform Haggadah Combines Liturgy, Poetry, and Art
The Central Conference for American Rabbis (CCAR) has published a brand new Haggadah. Mishkan HaSeder combines traditional liturgy with an array of contemporary poetry, as well as abstract illustrations that provide readers with something unique to glean from its pages.
Protecting the Right of Public Protest: RAC-FL’s 2021 Legislative Campaign
This legislative session, members of the Florida legislature are working to pass legislation that will chill free speech and assembly by threatening to criminalize peaceful public protest. The bill would intimidate and punish peaceful protesters.
The Dual Reckoning of Pesach: Don't Be Brutal, Don't Be Naive
The fact that in every generation some individuals and groups rise to try and destroy us, as we sing, does not give us carte blanche permission and justification to act brutally ourselves – as every Israeli soldier knows.
Lessons from the Crusty Page of an Ancient Haggadah
Sometime during the Middle Ages, a Jew in Cairo acknowledged the fact that joy usually comes with a dose of pain, and pain with joy, so they took a bite of that seder concoction, and left its dribblings for me to see in New York.
What Do Superheroes and Passover Have in Common?
The author of "The (unofficial) Hogwarts Haggadah" and "The (unofficial) Muggle Megillah" has delivered another work of art combining fanservice and prescient Jewish learning in "The Superhero Haggadah: A Story of Signs and Marvels."