Marriage Equality and Passover: "From Degradation to Praise"
This Passover, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) will hear two cases that have enormous impact on equality and liberty in our country. On the first two days of Pesach, oral arguments in California's Prop 8 case and the Defense of Marriage Act case will be heard.
Let My People Go... Forth to the Wedding Chapel!
As a rabbi and president-elect of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, I come here to be with you this morning at the Supreme Court on the very first day of Passover to say: Our nation is ready for marriage equality. This is one of the holiest days of the Jewish calendar. It marks the day in Jewish tradition when we mark the Exodus from slavery in ancient Egypt; it marks the beginning of a journey to freedom. Today is our day to march toward that freedom, the freedom to marry. I represent more than 2,500 Reform rabbis. We support marriage equality and have filed Friends of the Court briefs in both today's Prop 8 case and tomorrow's DOMA case. Do not let others tell you that all religions oppose LGBT equality rights. We Reform Jews welcome, support, include, and, yes, advocate full rights and equality, including the right to marry the ones we love.
ACA Anniversary Reminds Us of Successes and Work Left to Be Done for the LGBT Community
A Sacred Journey: The Biographical Theology of Passover
In the weeks leading up to Passover, I think about the imperative embedded in the Hagaddah: B'chol dor vador chiav adam lirot et atzmo k'ilu hu yatza mi-mitzrayim, "In each and every generation, a person is obligated to see oneself as if he or she exited from Egypt." I share a personal s
What a Syrian Refugee Family Taught Me About Freedom
Two Syrian refugee sisters were reunited in Chicago last week. Now they stand on the brink of a new life in a new Land of Promise.
Election Results in Israel: What Do They Mean for Reform Jews?
Last week, Israelis re-elected Benjamin Netanyahu to an unprecedented fifth term as prime minister. What does his re-election mean for Reform Jews?
Why Is This Night Different?
For Jews without close family ties, the approach of Passover can elicit the same gnawing anxiety that Thanksgiving does: While the rest of humanity gathers around tables laden with a home-cooked feast and lifts glasses of wine, you’ll be dining at home alone on leftovers in front of the TV.
Let My Popcorn Go: Rethinking Passover’s Forbidden Foods
Jews, our rabbi insisted, have a duty to resist this mistaken and harmful tradition by making it a point to eat kitniyot on Passover.