"Why We Looked Away" I do not believe that the task of a Rabbi is to preserve the Torah. I do not think that our primary responsibility is to guard it or protect it from contamination. The Torah does not need to be saved from history, from politics, from moral conflict, or from the messiness of human life. If anything, the Torah exists precisely to be brought into that mess. There is the mitzvah of returning a lost object (Deut. 22:1). But this is not a commandment limited to

NOT ADAM TONIGHT The winter solstice has always wanted a story. When the days shrink, the cold closes in and the light seems to be dying, human beings instinctively look for a festival that says: no, the darkness will not win. In the ancient Mediterranean this meant Saturnalia, Kalendae, bonfires and torches; for us, in Europe, it may mean Christmas, a Christian solstice feast of light-in-the-dark, birth-in-midwinter, hope against despair.   This was a problem for the Rabbis

Rabbi Andrea’s Sermon About Chanukah, and about the Palestinian Flags With a note on bowling You know the joke, right? What are Jewish holidays really about? They’re all the same, and they all go something like this: “They tried to kill us. They failed. Now let’s eat.” It’s simple, it’s a little dark, and let’s be honest. it’s also more than a little true. The origins of many of our festivals lie in danger, survival, and relief. And each time, the Jewish people respond not wi

Stories that we refuse to erase   This week, with Parashat Vayetze, we meet Jacob at the threshold of exile. He leaves home abruptly, stepping into a world where welcome is conditional and where someone else holds the power to tell the story. He is fleeing danger, uncertainty, and family fracture. And it is exactly in that moment, alone, lying on the ground with only a stone beneath his head, that Jacob dreams the dream that will accompany his descendants throughout all of Je