d’var Torah

Top of Washington Monument against a blue sky with pink cherry blossoms blooming in the foreground

Awakening to the Moral Imperatives of this Moment

Rabbi Rick Jacobs

January 8, 2021

This is a moment that requires extraordinary courage to do the hardest and most transformative social change work. It is for all Americans of conscience to build a more just and compassionate future by facing the truth of our history and our present.

Rabbi Max Chaiken wears a green shirt and blows the shofar

d’var Torah

Navigating COVID: Our Ancestors Pointed the Way

Aron Hirt-Manheimer

August 25, 2020

Rabbi Max Chaiken, our Ten Minutes of Torah commentator for the Book of Deuteronomy, is the associate rabbi of Congregation Kol Ami in Los Angeles, CA. We talk to him about his Jewish journey and the ideas behind his commentaries.

What the Torah Teaches about the Use (and Abuse) of Political Power

D'Var Torah By: Rabbi Max Chaiken

August 17, 2020

“Justice, justice shall you pursue…” (Deut. 16:20) We find this famous biblical aspiration at the beginning of this week’s Torah portion, Parashat Shof’tim, which continues Moses’ elaboration of the extensive set of laws that the Israelites are to follow, if they are to create a holy and just society.

Shof'tim

On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah - Where the Mishnah Meets the #MeToo Movement - Naso

Rabbi Rick Jacobs

Parashat Naso includes a passage about the sotah, the "errant woman" who is accused of adultery. It's a complex and problematic part of ancient Judaism, says Rabbi Rick Jacobs, so sometimes it's deliberately avoided.

Naso

On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah - Our Multiracial Jewish Community - B'midbar

Rabbi Rick Jacobs

The Torah commands us to take a census of the “whole Israelite community” – but who does the counting, and who, exactly, is counted?

B'midbar