We’ve had a week of heartbreaking events. Where, where is God? On the banners of one or another army? In…
Category: God
Suffering: Why Does God Allow It?
This week, I happen to be teaching a course to rabbinic students called Losing God, Finding God: Jewish Responses to…
Letting Go of Literalism
A Biblical story, from parshat hashavua: The king of Moab approaches the prophet Balaam, hoping to hire Balaam to curse the…
Me, Me, Meaning
We are the “selfie generation.” Don’t let the epithet unsettle you. According to leading sociologists, we are not the first…
Impossible Love
Love is impossible. That’s just the way it is. Love stimulates growth and change, so love never sits still or…
Chesed: Love and Kindness
Sefirat Ha’omer: seven weeks of reflection on the sefirot, archetypal spiritual qualities. Last year I reflected in dialogue with the writings of the…
Spiritual Intercessor
At a Jewish funeral, you might hear the prayer, “May she (or he) be a melitz yosher for her family.”…
Knowing the Unknowable
How do you speak about the unsayable? Represent the unrepresentable? Make conscious what is, by its nature, unconscious? Here is…
Kabbalistic Secrets of Esther
Truism: The name of God does not appear in the Book of Esther. Truth: The names “Elohim” and “YHWH” do…