Rabbi’s Turn (Page 3)

By Rabbi Yohanna Kinberg , Temple B’nai Torah “May we think of freedom, not as the right to do as we please, but as the opportunity to do what is right.” — Peter Marshall As American Jews, when we sit down to our Passover seders this coming week, we shouldContinue Reading

By Rabbi Simon Benzaquen, Rabbi Emeritus, Sephardic Bikur Holim To my delight, I have noticed an encouraging trend of people who might not be religiously observant nevertheless observing the commandment of wearing tefillin. Why is it important for every male Jew, no matter what level of observance, to consider donningContinue Reading

By Rabbi Mark Glickman , Congregations Kol Ami and Kol Shalom “Nostalgia,” Yogi Berra once quipped “isn’t what it used to be.” His insight probably referred to the ever-shifting ways we remember good experiences, but a recent development in Jewish life shows that the ways we remember tragedy can changeContinue Reading

By Rabbi Harry Zeitlin , Congregation Beth Ha’Ari Judaism has contributed a great deal to world civilization. We introduced the concept of ethical monotheism and were among the first peoples to encourage universal literacy. Our tradition speaks of freedom and liberty for all — not just for an elite —Continue Reading

By Rabbi Beth Singer, Temple Beth Am The Pacific Northwest was greatly honored this past month by a visit from the new president of the Union for Reform Judaism, Rabbi Richard Jacobs. Rabbi Jacobs has quickly distinguished himself as a powerful visionary in an evolving contemporary Judaism, a leader whoContinue Reading

By Rabbi Jaron Matlow , Special to JTNews Many cultures observe a festival of lights in the darkest days of winter. For us it is Hanukkah, for others Christmas; as well there are Pagan festivals of light in the winter. For Jews and Christians, the winter festival also represents salvation.Continue Reading

By Rabbi Elazar Bogomilsky, The Friendship Circle, Bronnie Ware, a registered nurse in Australia, did a fascinating study a couple of years ago. She spent several years working in palliative care, caring for patients in the last few months of their lives. She recorded their dying epiphanies and put herContinue Reading

By Rabbi Bruce Kadden , Temple Beth El This past year, I had the opportunity to take a four-month sabbatical, spending two months in Israel and two months in Warsaw, Poland. In sharing the plans about our upcoming trip with friends and members of the congregation, almost everyone had theContinue Reading

By Rabbi Jessica Kessler Marshall, Temple Beth Or Several weeks ago, Israeli police arrested and imprisoned Anat Hoffman, a founder and organizer of Women of the Wall, and director of the Israel Religious Action Center. What was Hoffman’s crime? Simply wearing a tallit and praying the “Shema” with hundreds ofContinue Reading

By Rabbi Chaim Levine, Hope for Heroism What is it about heroism that moves us so much? Why is it that when we witness human beings putting their lives on the line to help another we feel so inspired that we tell their stories long after they are gone? WeContinue Reading

By Rabbi Daniel A. Weiner, Temple De Hirsch Sinai “When Israel has prostitutes and thieves, we’ll be a state just like any other.” —David Ben Gurion David Gruen’s transformation into Daveed Ben Gurion, from European socialist to Zionist utopian, reflected his potent awareness that outward perception impacts inner identity. AndContinue Reading

By Rabbi Rick Harkavy , Congregation Bet Chaverim Picture your grandparents. Try to visualize them. Now try to picture your great-grandparents. Try to visualize them wherever they came from and, if you can, set them in a synagogue. Imagine them singing while holding the Torah scroll in their arms duringContinue Reading

By Rabbi Rachel Nussbaum , The Kavana Cooperative I returned recently from a wonderful summer in Israel, where I had the privilege of serving on the faculty for the Bronfman Youth Fellowships in Israel program. It was a total treat to teach the group of 26 fellows — high schoolContinue Reading

By Rabbi James L. Mirel , Temple B’nai Torah Rabbi Raphael Levine was a great mentor to me and many other rabbis and ministers over the years. Rabbi Levine came to Seattle and Temple De Hirsch in 1942, and served the temple until his death in 1985. Beginning in 1960,Continue Reading

By Rabbi Shalom D. (Berry) Farkash, Chabad of the Central Cascades A few weeks ago, the children were all home after the last day of school, and we were getting ready for the start of a long summer vacation. After dinner we had a roundtable discussion regarding the upcoming monthsContinue Reading

By Rabbi Jill Borodin, Congregation Beth Shalom One of my goals for this summer has been to expose my 6-year-old twin daughters to hiking. Over the past couple of weeks, we have gone out hiking twice. The first time, I picked an easy walk. This easy trail started out fine,Continue Reading

By Rabbi Alan Cook , Temple De Hirsch Sinai I have been blessed to be involved in a number of opportunities for interfaith dialogue over the past several months. In a variety of settings, laypeople and clergy from a number of different religious traditions have discussed matters ranging from marriageContinue Reading

By Rabbi Avremi Yarmush, Chabad of Whatcom County In this week’s Torah portion, Korach instigates a mutiny against Moshe Rabbeinu. Throughout history, Korach has been vilified as someone who was corrupt and had no fear of God. However, if we look at his argument, it doesn’t seem all that bad.Continue Reading

By Rabbi Jay Rosenbaum , Herzl—Ner Tamid Conservative Congregation When I was in my early 20s, I went through a period of several years when I set Judaism aside. I had been raised with the best Jewish upbringing you can imagine: My father was a Conservative rabbi; our family wasContinue Reading