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 spoken word poem about facing the reality before our world

What does it take for a teenager to stand in a senator’s office, look a legislative aide in the eye, and say, “This is personal”? For the remarkable teens of Congregation Or Ami (Calabasas, California), it took courage, conviction, and a deep belief in the power of their own voices. This past week, a group of our young leaders traveled to Washington, D.C., for the Religious Action Center for Reform Judaism ’s L’Taken Social Justice Seminar . Over four days, they immersed the

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.

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

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?

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.

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

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 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.

Spoken Word Poem: Our congregant kid was in that Country Western Dance Bar. He's Okay. I'm not. I've had enough.

Pray for the children, The ones who were taken away; And pray for the leaders, Whose moral compasses have gone astray. Pray for the kids, Who wallow in their cages; And pray for the guards; Whose work sullies their wages...

Spoken word poetry seeking to find sanity during the tensions at the Gaza border.

Sitting in a meeting, chewing over some complex sensitive issues, I mansplained a respected female rabbi... and I liked it! Well, not really.

I confess there is so much I don’t know about women (Rabbis) and the experience of women in the rabbinate. But I’m listening and learning.

In the wake of the shootings, Rabbi Douglas Sagal taught: On Shabbat, we light two candles. Why two? Twice the Ten Commandments are stated in the Torah; once in the Book of Exodus and once in the Book of Deuteronomy. There are slight differences in the two texts of the Commandments, however. In one, it is commanded to “Zachor”, remember the Sabbath day. In the other, it is stated to “Shamor” protect, guard the Sabbath Day. The Sages, of blessed memory, taught us that the tw

Two by Two, we can save the children from the bullets like Noah’s Ark saved the animals, before we fall back to sleep.

Adulthood arrives later than when we were kids. When young people take more real responsibility not only for their own lives, but also for those around them, and for their community, country and world, they begin to manifest a level of maturity that evidences approaching adulthood.

When Jews and Baha’is sat down to break bread, the similarities were astounding and the discussions delicious.