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Every Day is Earth Day: Jewish Holidays and Environmental Justice
Since 1970, the United States has celebrated Earth Day every April. By contrast, ancient Jewish celebrations throughout the year remind us of our responsibility to safeguard the fragile planet God has entrusted to our care. Almost all of our Jewish observances reflect environmental concerns.
The Four Questions: A Racial Justice Conversation for Your Passover Seder
At seder tables, we ask four questions to remind ourselves of our purpose. This year, we ask you to add four more questions to connect our ancient rituals to the demands of this moment in the struggle for racial justice.
The Passover Seder’s Four Children and LGBTQ Inclusion: Moving Toward Full Hospitality
We read, “Let all who are hungry come and eat.” These words have taken on deep meaning for me as I came out of the closet, got married, and had kids of my own: Our freedom and redemption are founded on being inclusive and welcoming.
Galilee Diary: Galilee encounters
Three encounters from a day with 50 students from HUC, spending their first year in Israel before beginning their studies at the stateside campuses.
Conservation from Farm to Fork
Last Sunday marked the 42nd annual Earth Day, a celebration of our natural world and recognition of the important role humans play in protecting it by living within our means.
Galilee Diary: Blood and fire and pillars of smoke
…So I know the sea was not split in vain Deserts not crossed in vain – If at the end of the story stand Daddy and the kid Looking forward and knowing their turn will come. -from "The Kid of the Haggadah" by Nathan Alterman (trans. Arthur Waskow and Judy Spelman)
The Passover Order
I did not grow up in a kosher home. In fact, I refer to the home in which I was raised as “glatt treiff.” My becoming a bar mitzvah in 1973 coincided with my mother’s personal liberation.
My Musical Haggadah: Israeli Music Retells the Story of Our Exodus
My Haggadah is a musical one. The themes of Pesach inspire so many of my favorite Israeli musicians, and every year another musical Midrash is added to my Pesach collection.
Determining if Aaron Really Is a Man of Peace
In most biblical traditions, Aaron is portrayed as a supporting actor in the great performances of God and Moses. The biblical character of Aaron lacks outstanding characteristics, and this invites those who study the Torah to offer unique personality traits that are so noticeably absent from the story.