Rabbi's Week in Review Blog

In a series of events, from a spate of troubling rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court to the debate to this past weekend’s horrific shooting (the political violence at the Trump rally — one person dead, two others in critical condition as I write this), against the backdrop of the ongoing war in Israel and Gaza with 116 hostages still not home, I have to admit that I am overwhelmed, as I feel many in our community and our country are...Read more...

As I write this, I’m hearing the announcement from the U.S. Supreme Court that, unlike everyone else in our country, the president of the United States is above the law. This ends a term of the court in which they have abrogated the long-held Chevron Doctrine — finding that federal judges, rather than administrators who are the top experts in their fields, are better positioned to make decisions about our dangerously climate-challenged...Read more...

Fay and I finished the most recent season of “Bridgerton,” one of Shonda Rhimes’ many acclaimed television creations. The setting for the series is early 19th-century London, a time and place of greater racial equality, due at least in part to the marriage of then King George II to Queen Charlotte, of Black Portuguese descent. That it facilitates many of the characters being both Black and of nobility is a welcome piece of the...Read more...

The news of Donald Trump’s conviction on all 34 felony counts brought against him is too big to ignore, and I couldn’t if I wanted to. Following are some observations, particularly in response to the subsequent numerous attacks by Trump sycophants on our judicial system and our democracy.

Trump was not indicted by President Joe Biden, the Biden administration or the DOJ. He was indicted by New York citizens serving on a grand jury...Read more...

Over the past weekend, I attended a rally in support of a cease-fire in Gaza, uplifting the rights of Palestinians, seeking full humanitarian aid for Palestinians in Gaza, and uplifting the work of the Palestinian American Medical Association, which has been working in Gaza to save Palestinian lives under the most challenging and dangerous circumstances. I did not agree with every viewpoint expressed at the rally, but I do believe in the...Read more...