Galilee Diary: Winter
It is life we want, no more and no less than that, our own life feeding on our own vital sources, in the fields and under the skies of our homeland, a life based on our own physical and mental labors; we want vital energy and spiritual richness from this living source.
Revelation: It’s Not What It Seems to Be
On Shavuot we celebrate receiving the Torah. But, how are we truly to understand divine revelation?
This is the Moment to Commit to a “Covenant With Our World”
As Reform Jews, we are called, like the generations before us, to build partnerships across lines of difference to advocate for and engage with the oppressed of our day.
Sleepless on Shavuot: Let My People Learn
On the first day of Shavuot, we are supposed to hear the Ten Commandments read in the synagogue, but the main event is the learning binge the night before.
Shavuot in Jerusalem: A Night of Study and a Day to Surf
I know that Shavuot is near when I can hear the fruit vendors in the shuk (open-air market) extolling the virtues of the newly arrived crops of peaches, plums, apricots, and nectarines.
Shavuot: The Day God and the Jewish People Wed
The day the Israelites stood at the foot of Mount Sinai, preparing to encounter God, is understood in midrash as the day of marriage between God and the Jewish people.
On Shavuot, Diverse Voices in One Community
Shavuot provides an ideal Jewish textual grounding for celebrating our diversity, and lifting up various and dissenting voices within our community.
How to Bring Biblical Agricultural Traditions to Life
In the 1940s, two Israeli pioneers created a new Jewish holiday specifically for agricultural settlers who were bringing the Jewish people back to working the land.
Remembering the Lessons of Two Different Ruths
Every year as Shavuot approaches, I think about my mother. That’s because her name was Ruth -- just like the book we Jews read on Shavuot.
Choosing Judaism: Why One Grandmother Made a Public Commitment
Last fall’s tragedy in Pittsburgh finally prompted Linda North, now known as Ruth bat Avraham v’Sarah, to set a date for her conversion to Judaism.