My Dance Space – Parshat Terumah 5784

Sacred spaces can be physical like the Tabernacle or a synagogue, or they can be personal, between two human beings. Parshat Terumah suggests that regardless of where they are, boundaries can have their own inherent holiness, and respecting them allows for more trusting relationships. The most beautiful movements together happen when you have your dance space and I have mine.

Fight Club and the Ten Commandments

In 1996, a novel was published that touched the country’s nerve. It was brought to the big screen three years later, and despite initially tepid box office earnings, was destined to become a peculiar cult classic. That movie was Fight Club, starring Ed Norton and Brad Pitt. It is a dark, morbid study of the hollowness of consumer culture and white-collar corporate jobs while highlighting the loss of meaningful human connection.

Jewish Sex – Parshat Mishpatim 5784

The Torah is explicit that the rights of two people in a committed relationship are food, clothing, and conjugal love. Jewish law values the rights of both partners to sexual satisfaction within their partnership.

Breathing in the Ten Commandments

The Shabbat on which we read Parshat Yitro always feels particularly momentous since we recite the Aseret HaDibrot, or the Ten Commandments on this day. Indeed, tomorrow I will be speaking about the important role that the Ten Commandments and Torah as a whole have had on the Jewish people. Given that focus, it seemed appropriate to take a somewhat different direction for this Oasis Song. While Jewish law has an enormous scope, it rarely is about dry statutes; instead, it has long been a repository of Jewish history, moral dilemmas, and ethical sensitivities.

To Learn From All – Parshat Yitro 5784

There is so much to be learned from others who are outside of our small Jewish community. Parshat Yitro calls loudly to all of humanity to open our minds and learn from one another. It doesn’t mean that we have to share all aspects of belief, but it also doesn’t serve a purpose to close ourselves off from one another and miss the opportunity to grow.

A Time to Pray, a Time to Act – Parshat Beshalach 5784

How many times do we see people offering “thoughts and prayers” after tragic events? The Torah this week reminds us that perhaps it should be “actions and prayers.” Yes, we can have both a belief in something greater than ourselves and the imperative to take action to create a world that is a picture of justice and mercy. 

The Mountains of Darkness: Ecological Reflections for Tu Bishvat

In the southeast corner of Oregon, there is a sparsely inhabited swath of land known as the Outback. It is a place every Oregonian should visit at least once, for as the sun drops below the horizon, the night sky there becomes one of the darkest places left on the planet. Staring up there when the moon is small is to gasp in wonder at a vision of the stars most modern people no longer have access to.