The recent attack outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., claimed the lives of two young people, Sarah Lynn Milgrim, a Jewish educator and activist, and Yaron Lischinsky, a German-born ally of the Jewish people and Israeli citizen. This antisemitic double murder joins a decade of violent attacks against Jews that began at the Tree of Life Synagogue.
There is something profoundly humbling about pausing before a meal to say a blessing. Whether seated at a Shabbat table or unwrapping a snack on a busy afternoon, the simple words “Baruch atah… borei p’ri ha’adamah” remind us that what we consume is not simply the work of our own hands, but part of a sacred partnership with the earth and with God.
It was 1998, and I was working for Rabbi Alan Lew in San Francisco shortly before beginning rabbinical school. Congregation Beth Sholom, where he served, was an urban synagogue. This meant that an unusual coterie of individuals would knock on the doors seeking a meal, a conversation, or sometimes something more.
This week’s parshah, Emor, invites us to reflect on the power of sacred time and sacred action. When days blur together and we often rush from task to task, Emor reminds us that time is not just something we pass through — it’s something we can elevate.
The double Torah portion of Acharei Mot–Kedoshim offers one of the most profound—and countercultural—statements of moral purpose in Jewish tradition. Kedoshim tihyu, "You shall be holy," is not presented as a private aspiration but as a collective call to infuse daily life with sanctity. What follows are not primarily abstract mystical precepts or ritual instructions but rigorous interpersonal commandments: care for the poor, honesty in business, respect for elders, and just courts.
Judaism doesn’t just bless love—it blesses committed, ethical, sacred love. This week, take time to reflect on the relationships in your life—romantic, familial, communal. Consider how you might bring more intentionality to the way you show love, build trust, and uphold sacred commitments. Holiness isn’t only about what we avoid—it’s about what we build.
In Pirkei Avot, a book of maxims in the Mishnah, an ancient rabbi, Ben Bag-Bag said about Torah study, “Hafokh bah, va’Hafokh vah, d’khola bah.” Turn it over and over, for everything is in it. For two thousand years, that’s what Jews have done. Here is another turning.
