Jews in the US are so often conflated with both whiteness and power, that when we cry Anti-Semitism, it rings hollow to most. While there are some very powerful Jews (who don’t in fact run the global conspiracy), Jews worked very hard for decades to take on the mantle of whiteness in this country. Never fully succeeding, but almost. Just enough. Enough that we can’t be viewed as vulnerable. Enough that a discussion of our oppression is a distasteful centering of a privileged experience, because we don’t believe that Jews experience poverty. Or structural disenfranchisement. The reality is that Jews are between 1-2% of the US population, and that at least 20% of Jews live in poverty, and that number is growing every year. read more

My Hanukkah celebration began with my email filled with Happy Hanukkah wishes from family, friends and people of different faith communities. For those of us celebrating tonight we remember that Hanukkah, the Festival of Light is a celebration of freedom.

Hanukkah represents a fundamental human right to freedom and has historic and contemporary significance. The right to freedom stretches from the festival historic origins in the Maccabean Revolt in the second century B.C.E., all through the ages, in our world and in the United States in 2019. read more

This is the story of a man who took no responsibility for his mistakes or misdeeds or breaking the law. In a life strung together by bankruptcy, cheating, lying, and illegal practices he was surrounded by people who fixed things to allow him to come out unscathed. The man could rely on those who were willing, for a price, to make sure that he would never have to take responsibility for bankruptcies, sexual assaults, racist practices, breaking contracts and engaging in a range of shady dealings. read more

“If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill!” –Psalm 137:5

There’s just something about Judaism. We’re fully Abrahamic, but don’t ideologically enforce doctrines as specific as Jesus’ divinity or even Muhammad’s prophethood. We’ve survived for thousands of years carrying traditions from each place we’ve been. We’re in so many other countries, but not quite of those countries. We’re an introspective culture with an ancient, powerful tradition of thoughtful dissent. Perhaps this is what gave us the mindset to beat at the heart of the Islamic Golden Age, the European Enlightenment, and now the American technological revolution. read more

I heard Speaker Pelosi say that she has been praying for President Trump. She mentioned it shortly after she took political action to investigate Trump’s Ukraine affair. As a person of faith I understand the idea of praying for others. I pray for people I love and care about. Yet, I had a hard time thinking of a praying for someone who has brought enormous destruction to our democracy, to the rule of law, and the ideals that we hold sacred.

The Speaker, a distinguished seasoned Democratic leader, did not just resort to prayers. She took bold action this week and launched a House inquiry into Trump’s extortion of the newly elected president of the Ukraine, a country invaded/threatened by the ruthless Putin. Trump’s turning the screws on a president of a country dependent on the United States to survive, is of course not the first of Trump’s lawless behavior. Speaker Pelosi clearly understood that this transgression is just one in a long line of Trump’s reckless acts that have become a daily shocking presidency. She decided that the Ukraine affair was the right moment to stand up to Trump, who until this week felt emboldened by the Mueller Report and the unwavering support of Republicans in the House and the Senate. The Speaker called the House inquiry a sad day for our nation. read more

The creation of the world is about to be celebrated in our annual readings from the first book of the Torah, beginning with “In the beginning, God created…” It is a time to reflect, to consider the awesome beauty of the world as well as our own efforts to live up to a divine image. It is also a time that reminds us of oneness, as we recite yet again the Shema, “Hear Oh Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One.” The oneness of God was considered to be a revolutionary step in the spiritual development of mankind. Oneness has been imagined and reimagined over the generations, and I leave it to theologians to define it in more profound ways than I possibly can. For me, oneness has taken on very local meaning, thanks to a recent interest I have developed in the Great Lakes and the water of our region. read more