Israel: A Challenging Love Affair
Being happily married for 38 years, I may lack some credibility to use the analogy of a spurned lover but, in my defense, I’ve seen a lot of movies. I have had a love affair with Israel that goes...
View ArticleWhen ‘work’ becomes unhealthy
The decision made by Simone Biles, America’s premier gymnast, not to compete at the Tokyo Olympics in most of the events that she trained for, set off a firestorm of commentary. We are a country that...
View ArticleCalling out Bigotry, Both Right and Left
Much “ink” has been spilled in recent years over the dangers posed to both Jewish and American values by a particularly ugly version of the American political right wing. But the right wing has not...
View ArticleDemocracy at Risk: A Jewish View
To me, the wisdom that a Biblical text can impart always resides between the words in the scroll and the life and times of the reader. For that reason, I was struck this week by the juxtaposition of...
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View ArticleHow a People Survives
When I get asked on how/why I chose to become a rabbi, I always cite a formative experience that I had in the summer between my junior and senior year in high school. I participated in a program...
View ArticleThe Work of Redemption
How can you not love Pesach? It is true, depending on your level of observance, there can be a lot of hassle, with changing dishes, getting rid of non-Passover foods and stocking your fridge and pantry...
View ArticleAnti-Semitism: Not Just About Us
One of my first jobs in the Jewish community was as the executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Washington D.C. I started the job in 1984 (an eerie year, for sure, if you are a...
View ArticleIs ‘Purification’ Possible?
I just returned from my first, post 10/7 trip to Israel. A widely held view in Israel, that I heard expressed in a variety of different ways is: everything has to be re-thought. Included on that list...
View ArticleListening for Angels
NOTE: This was delivered at Kol Nidre services, 5785, at Adat Shalom Reconstructionist Congregation in Bethesda, MD, where Rabbi Sid is the Founding Rabbi. Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about...
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