WORDS THAT BREATHE

What kind of country and world, do we want our children to grow up in? A Torah-based reflection on dignity, leadership, and the image of God

Friends, in just a few moments we will rise for Kaddish. Before we do, I need ten minutes of holy honesty. These past weeks, many of us have watched events unfold in Minneapolis and beyond, and we have felt the ground shift under our feet. We have said the names Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti, and we have struggled with the same question echoing in so many Jewish hearts: How can this be happening here, and what does our Jewish tradition ask of us now? This is not a partisa

A spoken word poem about facing the reality before our world

Wow! God was in this place, and I did not know it.” Like Jacob, we often miss the Divine Presence all around us. This article explores how sand dollars, mezuzot, and nature help us rediscover the sacred in daily life.

Wisdom to ensure you don’t let political disruptions ruin your Thanksgiving dinner

How to find hope when the world feels hopeless.

How to respond when life out there is so full of stress that we often want to pull back, circle the wagons, and just take care of ourselves.

A strong statement condemning Kanye West's (Ye) antisemitism and the hatred that it engenders.

Sermon: That Time My wife was spit on... in Jerusalem... by a Jew. AKA: Rejecting Tribalism, Embracing Discomfort

In this spoken word poem, explore how Abraham's parents might have felt as he went off from Haran to the Promised Land, in search of his future.

How I found faith that got me through these tumultuous years.

A Psalm for our cities on fire, after the killing of George Floyd

COVID-19 could kill us, but it shouldn’t also bring shame upon us or our infected loved ones. And it won’t. Unless we play into the growing stigma that is at once immoral and dangerous to our mental health. If we play into that stigma, then COVID-19 will do both: shame us unfairly while increasing the chances it might kill us.

During this pandemic, we can Pay It Forward, taking care of a whole web of workers, businesses, and organizations that have long cared for, served, or sustained us.

A poem providing insight into mourning during the in-between times.

In a speech at Hebrew Union-College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Or Ami congregant Seth Front kvells about the positive impact that Congregation Or Ami interns and rabbis have had on their daughter Amanda.

The secrets of the festival of sukkot illuminate life lessons, connect us to nature, provide full body experiences, and are like Dr. Who's Tardis and Superman's Fortress of Solitude.

A year after the Borderline shooting and the SoCal fires, we reflect on the first person experiences, and explore Torah's insistence that we take action in the face of danger, including mass shootings and changes in climate.

Don't Wait: Lessons from my father-in-law Murray Novembert. (Yom Kippur sermon)

A poem about facing the moments over the High Holy Days - small but meaningful - when my dad won't be there.