Aug 28, 20193 minApologies are Like Cheese: Preparing for the High HolidaysI recently had the opportunity to ask forgiveness, a mentor and colleague wrote me about a situation where I had "dropped the ball." I ignored the email at f...
Jun 3, 20196 minWhat if We Stopped Waiting? Climate Action NowI stumbled into learning about climate change about five years ago, while in the midst of Rabbinic School. Nothing beforehand could have prepared me for the ...
May 7, 20195 minClimate Change and Consciousness My step-grandfather, the last of my grandparents, died on the day I left home to get on a plane for the Climate Change and Consciousness 2019 (CCC19) confere...
Apr 7, 20193 minInterfaith Sukkot Celebration and ProtestFrom October 19, 2016. I believe that we are in the midst of another spiritual awakening. The North Dakota Pipeline, with all of its destructiveness, has bro...
Feb 8, 20192 minIn Mourning and JoyI am sitting in the dusk of Winter, preparing to officiate a funeral. As I re-read my notes from the meeting with family members and work on the eulogy, ther...
Nov 15, 20185 minMan ListeningIf Judaism had a central anthem, mantra, or creed*, it might very well be the prayer which begins with Shema Yisrael, Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai Ehad. While man...
Nov 7, 20184 minThe Transformative Power of Beauty and DetroitI was raised to be an engineer, the son of an engineer, and the grandson of an engineer. Naturally good at math and science, art and beauty seemed like the d...
Aug 6, 20183 minWhy a Pilgrimage to Honor the EarthOver a decade ago now, I was sitting in a Parshah HaShavua (weekly Torah Portion) class and my teacher asked the following: Why are human beings called ADAM ...
Jul 23, 20183 minEarth in Search of Humanity: Adamah in Search of Adam"The Tree of Knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat of it, for on the day that you eat thereof, you shall surely die." And the Lord God said, "It is no...
Jul 9, 20183 minStrangers: Welcoming the DangerAs my body acclimates to the new demands I'm putting on her (mostly), my biggest challenge has been emotional. As an introvert, especially when tired, how d...
Jun 27, 20182 minThe Torah of TreesTrees are magnificent creatures. I've known this for a long time, in theory - Did you know that they not only drink water like you and I, but also expirate i...
Mar 31, 20181 minFaith Traditions in AmericaI am so deeply grateful for clergy colleagues and other religious leaders throughout the world with whom I have the privilege of teaching, learning, and brea...
Feb 6, 20181 minParshat Yitro - What you believe, does not matter!This past week we read about the Israelites’ confrontation with God at Mt. Sinai, there was thunder and lightning, among many other things. One thing that wa...
Jan 22, 20182 minThe Jewish Calendar and Dis-Ordered EatingEach Jewish month carries within it it’s own lesson, challenge, and potential for growth. Last week we started the Hebrew month of Shevat. Our next Jewish Ho...
Jan 7, 20184 minParshat Shemot: How free, are You?How free are you? Politically, how free do you feel and how free are you in actuality? Emotionally, to what extent are you informed by your emotions versus b...
Jan 7, 20181 minParshat Va'era: The Perfection of ImperfectionMoses was a very imperfect leader. His adult life begins with one attempt to stand up to the taskmasters, followed by a 40 year detour of hiding out in the d...
Dec 11, 20173 minChannukah is PersonalWe are almost at Channukah, and will be lighting the first night’s candles as a community this Tuesday evening at 5:00p.m., and then celebrating the 8th Day ...
Dec 4, 20173 minNow I live censored, limited, but in PeaceLast week’s Torah Portion, Parshat Vayishlach, contains one of the most famous and one of my favorite scenes in the entire Torah -- Jacob’s midnight wrestlin...
Nov 27, 20172 minOn I-phones and I-dols"Rabbi Hiyya said that Terah, the father of Abram (whom God later renamed Abraham) manufactured idols. One time, when Terah went away and left Abram to mind ...
Nov 27, 20172 minThe Forgotten Parts of Our LivesIn last week's Parshat VaYetze, Jacob flees the home of his parents after taking his older brother's blessing and fearing for his life. He has a dream of ang...