Blogs

As Jews, we know that structure can be a good friend.  So can spontaneity.  Ideally these elements combine to make our services engaging and our rituals and celebrations as resonant as they can be.  With Passover on the horizon, a holiday that rests on structure and specificity even as it encourages new questions each year, this intertwining is something to be especially conscious of and grateful...Read more...

If you have never read Harold Kushner’s 1981 book When Bad Things Happen to Good People, I have two suggestions for you:

1) Read it. 

2) Keep a copy handy for future reference.

Because, quite frankly, bad things happen to good people all the time, and grappling with this in a void can be daunting and exhausting. So it is hardly surprising that this week’s Torah portion, Sh’mini, is best known...Read more...

This week’s Torah portion, Vayikra, is all about offerings and sacrifices, and its intricate rules make for a bizarrely fascinating read, if you are the kind of person who doesn’t mind getting into the nitty-gritty and knows your way around a pasture. I, for one, had never seen much relevance in these rules until, years ago, I came across a commentary by the amazing Rabbi Shoshana Gelfand...Read more...

This past week, after years of silence, I reconnected with my Parisian host father. This was a man who had welcomed me into his family for six months in the spring of 1999 and made an indelible imprint on the person I am today. Interestingly, he hails from the American South, but he moved to Paris in his 20’s and made a life for himself for himself in the City of Love, marrying an elegant and joyful powerhouse of...Read more...

Move over, Joseph and your amazing technicolor dream coat… This week, it’s Aaron and his sons getting a fashion upgrade! As Israel’s newly consecrated priests, they cannot help but impress, thanks to some ornate sacral vestments for “dignity and adornment,” complete with a colorful robe, tunic, headdress, and sash. As high priest, Aaron’s garments are topped off with a breastplate, ephod, precious...Read more...