Our rabbinic sages say that we are to learn and replicate the deeds of our ancestors. They call this principle maase avot siman lebanim, which means that the actions of our ancestors are a sign or portent to their children. I invite us to learn from a series of deeds that isn’t found in Torah, but is part of the legacy of the avot v’imahot/the founding generation of the LGBTQI+ movement. On a...
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Today is the Jewish holy day of Shavuot when we celebrate our receiving of Torah. Some of us study all night long, altering our consciousness from lack of sleep so we can feel and maybe be closer to God. Today as I stand in that liminal place where only the thinnest of veils separate me from the Holy One of Blessing, I contemplate the Jewish concept of kabbalat ol malchut shamayim-not just...
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August 20, 2019 The ten commandments are clear. And of course the one most appropriate to remember today is “Thou shalt not murder”. The Talmud expands upon that Torah command and teaches us that “the one who takes one life, it is as though they have destroyed the universe. And the one who saves one life, it is as though they has saved the universe” (Mishnah Sanhedrin...
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Terry Shrunk Plaza, July 12, 2019 Our hearts are so broken, but we come together tonight as the humans who constitute the buffer between the nightmare that is America today and the point of no return. Take a look around you if you can still see in this twilight light, and take in the faces of those who are with you on this journey. Together we will not allow this nation to get to the point of no...
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Today at our Shabbat services the most beautiful souls explored the mitzvah of leaving the corners of our fields for the poor, the sojourner (immigrant), the widow and orphan and we closed with some food for thought. Whether you were able to join us or not, here’s some fodder for spiritual practice: Looking at the field as an agricultural construct leads us to many beautiful ways of being...
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Elul begins this year on the heels of the most tumultuous political year I have ever experienced in almost 60 years of life. Our sitting president puts out an average of 6.4 lies a day. ICE and our immigration policies are not merely cruel, they are torturing children and are impeding our economy from functioning to boot. Hate incidents have skyrocketed. In Portland alone, hate incidents...
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