Velveteen Rabbi

Lekh-lekha means “go forth.”

The tree of peace The tree of peace can’t defend herself against axes or arson.

Here are seven thoughts, shared in hopes of generating not heat but light. 1) Many American rabbis fear losing work, or losing fiscal support for the communities we serve, if we express a view about Israel / Palestine that doesn’t fit within a narrow (and,

So this is a news story that broke this week: Emory Hillel Fired Its Rabbi Over Her Fiancé’s Criticism of Israel.

I am so excited about this: The Heller Museum, Ben Yehuda Press, and Jewish Book Council cordially invite you to the book launch for Accept Our Prayers: An Amidah Companion – Weds.

Earlier this week I sang El Maleh at the countywide memorial for the victims of the Oct. 7 attacks.

On Friday when I met with my Institute for Jewish Spirituality hevruta we realized we didn’t have new materials to study, so we went back to look at something we had missed in the run-up to the holidays.

I like the quiet of our sukkah now that we roof it with bamboo mats instead of with cornstalks that clack in the wind.

A fleeting glimpse of blue sky through my folded-over sukkah roof yesterday.

The green has changed.

One of the things I do with my son, in our spare time, is watch television shows and talk about what they teach us about being a good human being.

When I moved here from Texas 34 years ago and realized how much the daylight shifts from summer to winter and back again, I started really paying attention to the solstices and equinoxes.

When the world feels like too much — which it often does these days — one of my ways of returning to balance is studying Torah and working on Torah poetry.

Last year I wrote a new poetic version of the Isaiah haftarah reading for Yom Kippur morning, and offered it from the bimah at my shul.

I had a bit of a tickle in my throat at erev Rosh Hashanah services, but I wrote it off to the ding-dang ragweed, which blooms at the same time as goldenrod around here.

I know this hasn’t been an easy year.

A new year’s promise I can’t promise you justice.