WORDS THAT BREATHE

Each seder gathered a constellation of color and courage: Blacks and Jews, Black Jews and people of color—Bishops and Rabbis, churches and synagogues, choir singing, and the cacophony of connection and contemplation— We were a veritable mosaic of Moses’ people, linking arms, lifting hearts, lamenting and loving in equal measure.

A tribute to my rabbi, mentor, and friend, Stanley M. Davids, who died recently.

A jazz club. A Torah whisper. A T-shirt with a prophet’s promise. Reflections from the CCAR rabbinic convention on listening for the sacred in unexpected places—and improvising our way toward hope.

Love lives in the details—the small, intentional acts that show we care. Vayakhel teaches us that just as the Israelites built the Mishkan with devotion, we create holiness in our own lives through everyday gestures, like getting the right mustard and mayonnaise for my wife—because love, like faith, is best expressed in the language the other understands.

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.

Sitting on a Fire Truck: A story of overcoming shyness and self-doubt, embracing self-acceptance, and fulfilling a childhood dream of sitting on a firetruck at 61 years old

Parenting adult children requires new skills and a fresh perspective. Drawing from Torah wisdom, expert insights, and personal experiences, Rabbi Paul Kipnes explores the joys and challenges of this transformative phase. Discover how to foster deeper, more authentic connections with your adult children to support this sacred work.

Reflecting on love, healing, and connection through the intertwined lives of a couple laid to rest together at their funeral and twin sisters celebrating their B’not Mitzvah. Discover the profound lessons of relationships and the tree of life.

How to find hope when the world feels hopeless.

How my chiropractor prepared me for Rosh Hashana.

In an act so heinous to Jews, an orthodox Jewish young woman spit on the Torah scroll. That's what the ultra-orthodox leadership is fostering in their opposition to Women of the Wall and of progressive Judaism.

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

A mass shooting in a Pittsburgh synagogue.A mass shooting in the local dance bar.A raging fire, forcing the evacuation of the synagogue and 75 percent of our congregation. This is the story of when the rabbi experienced trauma after these events.

What’s with the raging wildfires and destructive flooding, the mass shootings and mindless meanness all around? How many more need to die to motivate Your mercy, to finally get You to act on our behalf? What the heck is going on with You, God?

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

When both my parents and mother-in-law died within 20 months, everyone wanted to help. Yet I wasn't ready to receive. Here are 8 ways to help that supported me until I was ready for me.

After 11 deaths in 11 days, I had it out with God. I realized with over 419,000 dead in American fromCovid-19 decimating, it was time for that conversation with the Creator.

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.

I feel this sense of deja vu as we began to cancel plans and hunker down. Yes, the coronavirus-compelled communal self-quarantine descending upon our county, state and country felt vaguely familiar. Here's how we get through then and will now. 

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.