Aleph Before any sound AlephBreath before breatha pausebefore the first letterof creation Not silencebut living stillnessfrom which every songis born…
Feel the Fear
The bible’s oldest political strategy—and why it doesn’t work Content warning: kings, scorpions, and other terrors—but with a gift of…
What My Mother Knew
Isaiah’s Long View of Comfort Today is Shabbat Nachamu, the Shabbat of Comfort. We read one of Isaiah’s most beautiful…
The Vision Before the Fall
What the prophets teach about division—and reconciliation Photograph by Laura Duhan-Kaplan Today is Shabbat Chazon, the Shabbat of Vision, the…
The Face of God is Peace
Bamidbar and the Temptation of Holy War On Mt. Sinai God tells Moses: You cannot see My face (panai); you…
War: Where Do You Draw the Line?
Pacifists, Just War Theorists, and the Rest of Us Photograph by Laura Duhan-Kaplan For years I was active in Concerned…
Renewing Jewish Spiritual Leadership: Vayikra's Small Aleph
When I was a teen in New York City, my father and I liked to slip out of the house…
After the Mountain
When cosmic consciousness fades, the inner work begins. Here is something the great prophets teach us. Seeing God doesn’t automatically…
Pray for Peace
Too many wars are vanity projects of corrupt leaders. They view the people of their own country as serfs who…