In a landscape of utter devastation, the spiritual work of choosing hope in the heartache.

When God threatens to wipe out the Israelites, Moses

recognizes, in the subtleties of language, that history is on the verge of

dangerously repeating.  Moses must become a new kind of leader, one who

does everything in his power to save the people from God’s wrath.  Only

then can healing begin. 

Source sheet: https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/546667?editor=1

We must reject the way of eternal war. The hostages must be returned to their loved ones. Humanitarian aid must reach the people of Gaza immediately. Israeli and Palestinian leadership must commit to a long term negotiated peace. There is another way, and saying so is not betrayal… it is love.

Parashat Tetzaveh 5784

Source sheet: https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/545191?editor=1

My reflections on a week spent at the U.S./Mexico border, witnessing up close the horrors that are happening every single day. We continue to make

it nearly impossible for people seeking asylum to safely enter this country and

with the numbers of displaced people around the world growing quickly, we need

better solutions. The Torah's images of the keruvim (cherubs) offer us two versions

- what will we choose?

If law is the ground upon which we stand, story must be the water

that softens the soil.  When law leaves story behind, it runs the risk of

disregarding the human beings it's meant to protect.  In the last year and

a half, since Roe V. Wade was overturned, far too many women and people who

need abortion access have been dangerously denied care. It’s time to tell their

stories and protect the right to reproductive freedom. 

Source sheet