Rabbis Without Borders
Rabbis Without Borders is a dynamic forum for exploring contemporary issues in the Jewish world and beyond. Written by rabbis of different denominations, viewpoints, and parts of the country, Rabbis Without Borders is a project of Clal – The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership.
Yom Kippur’s Circle Dance
Yom Kippur conjures solemnity and foreboding for many Jews. Ritual fasting, abstinence, penitence, and rehearsing for death evolved as core ...
The Key to Success is Failure
“Ever tried, ever failed,” Samuel Beckett once wrote. “No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better. “ (in Still Writing: ...
Gratitude and Forgiving the Unforgivable
A while back I suggested a unique way of doing the chesbon nefesh (soul’s accounting) we are expected to do ...
Dear Friend, May You Be Written in the Book of Life
“May you be Written in the Book of Life” is such a nice phrase to utter at this time of ...
Leave Your Seatbacks in their Full, Upright Position
A minor cultural kerfuffle flared up recently about airline seats and the question of whether to recline or not.On a ...
Choking on the Apple
I wasn’t at The People’s Climate March in New York on Sunday. I wanted to be, but I was, instead, ...
Apologizing for Our Parents’ Sins
My mother was born in Germany in 1939. She grew up there, emigrating to the United States in 1968, after ...
Facing Loss at Rosh Hashanah
The images of the secular New Year—Times Square, Champagne in fancy glasses, funny hats and noisemakers—are all fun and happy. ...
Look Both Ways Before Crossing!
As we cross from 5774 to 5775, the Akeida (the Binding of Isaac, which is traditionally read on Rosh Hashanah) ...
Who Will Live and Who Will Die?
We live with a practical tradition. We begin the New Year with ten days devoted to introspection. Between Rosh Hashanah and ...