This week as we commemorate the destruction of the Temple, we mourn. What are we mourning, really? We are experiencing the hottest temperatures this summer on record. What do we do about it? Will prayer bring us where we need to go? God, through Isaiah, has a lot to say about this.

With wildfires sending smoke across the globe, and heat rising to unprecedented levels, can we even escape? What can we learn from the Torah this week?

Recounting just some the magic that happened for me last week at the Kallah conference for Jewish Renewal. Am I worthy? Worth the listen!

Today I explore the idea of magic and how it shows up in the Torah, Judaism and our lives.

I watched a ridiculous Spanish series on Netflix about royalty that I couldn’t tear myself away from. What does this have to do with Korakh’s rebellion? Listen and find out.

I did a wedding on Saturday afternoon, which turned out great, but there was so much talk about what I should wear as the rabbi, it made me crazy. Blazers and trailblazers, assumptions and laws. How do we figure out what’s right while also respecting our traditions? So very complicated, yet so very simple.

I got ahead of myself in Torah last week, but I have a story that fits perfectly with next week’s Parsha, so I’m talking about it anyway. And though the smoke from wildfires of Canada sweeping into the United States feels apocalyptic, that’s not my story, but it sure feels similar after this week from hell.

A revelation came to me last week as Shavuot, the holiday of Revelation, descended upon me last week. I’m entering new territory, and not sure where it will take me, but it sure is exciting! Take a listen.

Why does it sometimes feel like when you don’t want to be counted as part of the “in” group, it’s so easy? Other times, when you do want to be counted as “in,” you’re out. Questions of inclusivity and exclusivity are so pertinent to Judaism and to the world, for the survival of all. If we don’t “get it” soon, what is the future of humanity?

What does it mean when the Torah says God will walk amongst us? How do we know if we’re doing what God wants so God will walk with us? A couple of weeks ago another young gay person committed suicide. Because he felt that his brothers were not walking with him. And I’m getting so much pushback from other rabbis for co-officiating at these weddings! Walk with me and explore what it means to walk with God—as God will do with us!