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At the Confluence of Death and Land

This Shabbat, we read the Torah portion entitled Chayei Sarah ~ Sarah’s life, though it begins with her death. Torah tells us that Sarah was 127 when she died, however given the length of biblical lives in Genesis (B’reishit), her age is unremarkable. The proximity of her death to the story of the binding of Isaac is read by our…

At the Confluence of Darkness & Light, Waters Above & Below, Earth & Earthling, Good & Evil

In a beginning … בְּרֵאשִׁ֖ית בָּרָ֣א אֱלֹהִ֑ים … B’reishit Bara Elohim … “B’reishit bara Elohim … When God began to create …” This Shabbat, around the world, Jews in synagogues, in homes, online, in bomb shelters, barracks and tents, will read from the opening chapters of Torah. We will also sit with the grief and existential angst that shattered our…

Sefirat haOmer ~ A Counting from Pesach to Shavuot

Each year we have the opportunity to count the Omer ~ a counting of the span of time ~ seven weeks of seven days + One ~ from the second day of Passover (a holiday of redemption in the words of early rabbinic sages) to Shavuot (a holiday the early rabbis connected with revelation; in diaspora, we no longer brought…

At the Confluence of Environmentalism & Our Sacred Story of Exodus

This post also appeared as an article in the May issue of The Observer, Nashville’s Jewish Newspaper Over 30 adults, a handful of children, and a few pets turned out for Nashville’s First (in-person) Earth Seder, an outdoor, Earth-conscious second seder on Shabbat afternoon. Rabbi Jessica Shimberg, assisted ably by her hubbitzen, sous-chef, and holy schlepper, Eric Stillman, welcomed guests with…

At the Confluence of Ritual & Activism

Originally published as part of T’ruah’s (M)Oral Torah series for Parshat Shmini Last week, I found and re-read the d’var Torah I offered when I became a bat mitzvah. In the 40-plus years since reading from Leviticus on that day, I have continued to wrestle with the relevance of its ancient rituals to our modern experience. This year, I am…