Blogging

Stay Calm and Carry On

My rabbinic studies included deep dives into emotional states. The rabbi responsible for my studies had one profound caution for me, unrelated to my intellectual abilities – watch out for your anger. At the time, I was confused by the comment.…

Tangled Up In Blue (Jewish PTSD)

The Jewish people have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Our fixation on remembering renews the trauma of an oft-attacked people. The Jewish calendar cycles us through a history of slavery, exile, and annihilation. We read through Torah,…

The Minnesota (Justice) Twins

The Washington Senators decamped to Minnesota in 1961 and became the Twins. Perhaps in return, two judges originally from Minnesota were soon nominated to the Supreme Court, Warren Berger, and Harry Blackmun. The Nixon administration selected…

The Rebellion Next Time

Talking heads on television refer to breaking news as unprecedented. Their use of language belies history. The United States was founded in an insurrection. Both inspired and immoral revolts recurred in the years after. More uprisings will certainly…

Speak Truth to Power

The Old Synagogue stood on Rosenstrasse, at the edge of the oldest part of Berlin. A small park and quaint buildings form a typical Berlin thoroughfare. Here, on February 28, 1943, an unprecedented demonstration began. The Aryan wives of Jewish…

The Torah of Germany

The current United States Supreme Court again ruled in ways antagonistic to universal rights. The Court curtailed the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to set standards on climate-changing greenhouse gas emissions for existing power…

A Little Rebellion

Have you had the urge to shout, “to hell with this” or “enough is enough!”? Now is the time to raise your inside voice and start acting. Our personal anguish does little to effectuate change. We need to band together for a little rebellion.Thomas…

Are We Pusillanimous?

While watching Real Time with Bill Maher, I learned the word pusillanimous. Do you know it? It means showing a lack of courage. In Torah, the Hebrew people committed a great offense when they were too timid and too afraid to act. Now as then,…

Separation Anxiety

I offered my farewell address last week. Two years ago I was elected President of the Washington Board of Rabbis. Back then the Covid pandemic already seemed interminable. What a challenging time for all of us, especially the clergy. The challenges…

The Public Theater

Joe Papp, the great theater impresario, produced plays about outsiders. His devotion to the outcast or interloper helped create a new era on Broadway. To champion the underdog, it helps to feel like an underdog.  Joe Papp was such an outsider,…