by Rabbi Nathan Kamesar Three stories sit heavily on my heart this week. First, the return to Israel on Monday of the remains of the last hostage in the Gaza Strip, Master Sgt. Ran Gvili z”l, taken captive by Palestinian Islamic Jihad some 842 days before his return. These were
by Rabbi Nathan Kamesar Two rabbinic leadership organizations of which I am a part, the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR) and the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association, joined together in a cross-denominational statement, along with all other major institutions in the Conservative, Reform, and Reconstructionist movements, against violent immigration enforcement. You
by Rabbi Nathan Kamesar It’s been a head-spinning time in world events. Last week we witnessed the capture of Venezuela’s President in a US military raid and his subsequent arraignment on drugs and weapons charges, as well as the killing of a U.S. Citizen, Renee Nicole Good, 37, in Minneapolis
by Rabbi Nathan Kamesar I’ve found myself wrestling recently with the question of whether or not there is such a thing as a prototypical “Jewish sensibility.” The answer is: probably not. If, as the old joke goes, two Jews means three opinions, and since, if anything, Jewish tradition has always
by Rabbi Nathan Kamesar What a heavy week this has been. During this season in which we are so conscientious about fostering light in the midst of the cold, dark winter, there was the shooting at Brown University, resulting in the deaths of two students, with a suspect still at
Karen (she/her) is a third-generation member of Society Hill Synagogue and a proud graduate of our Ann Spak Thal Hebrew School. She has dedicated her professional life to education. After graduating summa cum laude and being inducted into Phi Beta Kappa at Skidmore College in 2019, Karen moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma,