A Dayenu Moment in Tennessee, Violence in Israel
Dear Friends, I write this week in part to speak up about what I see as a dayeinu moment in Tennessee. Dayenu is of course the song we sing during the Passover seder that comes on the heels of the recitation of the ten plagues, contrasting these plagues with the manifold blessings we have experienced from the Divine. We […]
Israel’s Democracy on Pause: A Victory for Popular Protest and Judicial Balance
Dear Friends, What a week it’s been in Israel. We are in the midst of marking the 75th anniversary of the creation of the State of Israel, and never before has the country seen popular protests of this magnitude. Just today, over 100,000 people have been protesting outside the compound housing the Knesset, Israel’s legislature, […]
Shabbat Zachor, the Shabbat of Remembrance: Reflections on a Challenging New Year in Israel
This Shabbat is a special Shabbat known as Shabbat Zachor, the Shabbat of memory. Now, that can encompass many features of Jewish, and human, existence, but Shabbat Zachor, at least on the face of it, refers to a very specific, and somewhat challenging, memory. It comes from a few verses in the Book of Devarim, the Book of […]
The Juxtaposition of Yom Hazikaron and Yom Ha’atzmaut
Today marks Yom Ha’atzmaut, Independence Day in Israel, coming on the heels of Yom Hazikaron, shorthand for Yom HaZikaron LeHalalei Ma’arakhot Yisrael ul’Nifge’ei Pe’ulot HaEivah, Memorial Day for the Fallen Soldiers of the Wars of Israel and Victims of Actions of Terrorism, which is commemorated the day immediately before Yom Ha’atzmaut. This juxtaposition has a powerful effect. Whereas sometimes […]
Note About Israel and Sunday’s Town Hall
What a tragic and disconcerting week it’s been in Israel, a place so deeply held in so many of our hearts. Not only are bombs and rockets flying back and forth, an all-too-familiar experience for residents of Israel and Gaza, but neighborhoods are being torn asunder—mob violence in Israel among Jews and Arabs is erupting, a […]