How We Show Up For Each Other
By Rabbi Nathan Kamesar I have the privilege now of offering some words of Torah, reflecting on the same parashah, the same Torah portion Bjorn will speak about tomorrow, as he shares with you all, his community, his process of Yisrael — of wrestling with God, as that word means, wrestling with God’s words as […]
What Do Rainbows Have To Do With This?
By Rabbi Nathan Kamesar My four year old daughter Lila loves rainbows. The theme of her fourth birthday—I didn’t know birthdays have to have themes, but according to my wife they do—was rainbows. Her favorite dress is her rainbow dress, her favorite shoes are her rainbow shoes—one day I brought her home “rainbow sparkle gummies,” […]
Solace for the Eagles Fans
By Rabbi Nathan Kamesar With all the challenges in the world it may seem frivolous to open up my weekly D’var Torah with a missive about the Philadelphia Eagles, but, if the Inquirer’s front page headlines are any indication, that is where our community members’ hearts are. Tuesday’s headline was “Philly’s Super Sadness: In a […]
Earthquake Response
By Rabbi Nathan Kamesar What a devastating week it’s been around the world. The numbers of dead and missing coming out of Turkey and Syria as a result of the earthquakes there are overwhelming. At the time of this writing the death toll has surpassed 15,000, with many more injured, missing, stranded in the cold. […]
Refugee Shabbat • Song of the Sea
By Rabbi Nathan Kamesar I know I say this to all the B’nei Mitzvah students, Yul, but you really have a special parashah. So much so that your shabbat has a special name—Shabbat Shirah, the Shabbat of Song. Named, of course, after Shirat Hayam, the Song of the Sea—the most visibly noteworthy part of the […]