Daily Life, Grief & Coping, Inspiring Story, Weekly Parsha / 11 Aug 2022

Cross and Not Crossing

The translation that “God was cross with me” seems most thoughtful and sensitive to the resonance between Hebrew and English.

Art & Culture / 08 Aug 2022

The Lamentation of Venice: Hearing Shylock on Tisha B’Av

The antisemitism of Shakespeares’ “Merchant of Venice”.

Hold Dualities Together / 05 Aug 2022

Ukraine, Poland, and Me

Ukraine presents me with an interesting dilemma. I am moved by the tragedy of Russia’s war of aggression and the brutality with which the Russians prosecute it. For them, human suffering is a consideration to the extent that it can persuade their enemy to surrender. The Ukrainians are victims and pawns. But there is more to it than that. When the war began, a group of rabbis in Philadelphia went to the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception to attend Vespers on the eve of Lent and show our support for the Ukrainian people. As we approached the entrance of this beautiful space, a colleague quipped, “you know, historically, this didn’t end well for us.” And in fact, Jewish history in Ukraine is one characterized by Anti-Semitism. But our purpose was to show solidarity with those who are suffering. I admittedly have held an anti-Ukraine bias. My personal experiences there soon after the fall of the Soviet Union showed little change in attitudes towards Jews. Furthermore, I was from this place. My namesake fled the persecution for a life in the New World. My great-grandfather, David, worked hard from the moment he arrived here. In America, he had the opportunity to get ahead, feed his family, and keep them safe, at least from the next pogrom. Besides my prejudices, the war was over there, afflicting a bunch of people who weren’t very nice to mine. But the story is yet more complex. I am an American and a Jew, benefiting from the blessings this land has afforded me, not the least of which was the ability to become a rabbi offering spiritual and practical leadership. My rabbinate, serving as a chaplain and teacher, and my commitment to helping others make meaning through human relationships meant that historic grievance was not a valid reason…

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Book Club / 29 Jul 2022

Dear Radiant One: An Interview with Phoebe Leona

Phoebe Leona opens up about life, relationships, and her upcoming book.

Art & Culture / 21 Jul 2022

Evil Is Never Banal

A new documentary reveals how profoundly evil Adolf Eichmann was.