Rabbi's Week in Review Blog

I recently read an article in The Atlantic, “A Guide for the Politically Homeless,” by Eliot A. Cohen. While I did not agree with every assertion made in the article (and maybe that is part of the point, that we can find points of agreement even when we have areas of disagreement), I found resonance with the overarching point of the piece. Cohen sees a way forward through what he describes as a coarse and brutal politics within an...Read more...

By the time you read this, I will be in a very different Jewish community and a very Jewish, Jewish community — the Abayudaya Jews in Uganda. I look forward to the stories of their approach to ritual, music and perseverance over a century of existence, at times under extreme threat.

I have been mostly looking forward to the opportunity to learn of their culture, much more than imposing ours on them. Certainly, much more to come....Read more...

As I write this, we are one week away from elections. I have and will continue to express my concerns regarding the outcome of the election. In that regard, a reflection or two.

As I have stated on numerous occasions, and will continue to remind everyone, no one is required to agree with me to be part of the Kol Ami community. I have to confess to my own sense of fear as to possible outcomes of the election.  

Please...Read more...

It is always a gift for me to gather with the Congregation Kol Ami community/family. Our High Holy Days — both our Rosh Hashanah celebration and our reflective, serious observance of Yom Kippur — are both given meaning by sharing them in community.

This point was driven home to me in our Yom Kippur study session. We kicked off the “How and Why of Prayer” by asking why we pray. Amongst the more pervasive answers was the draw...Read more...

I was a speaker this past week for the annual dinner of the Crescent Peace Society at the Islamic Center of Johnson County. I was grateful for the opportunity — that they would welcome my Jewish voice in their sacred space at a time when we are seen as being in opposition to each other.

My message is one I will continue to share on Rosh Hashanah and in the year to come, 5785. That in fighting for our own voice, and in fighting...Read more...