Getting Creative: The Kosher for Passover Edition
What’s the difference between a board of matzo and the box it comes in? Nothing. -Old Jewish Proverb In this year of our people, 5780, COVID-19 concerns are dominating Passover […]
There is no chance that we will fall apart.
Earlier this week, in our morning minyan, Ilana Rossoff shared a very short poem by June Jordan that has been on my mind this whole week. It goes like this: […]
Sam’s BMitzvah: Small Changes Against Injustice
Recently, I have been studying the story of the 10 plagues. Right now in the Torah the Israelites are being enslaved by the Egyptians, and they have been enslaved […]
Chicago City Budget Vote Recap
On November 26, Chicago City Council passed a budget with a vote of 39-11. While the budget does include modest funding increases for mental health services and homelessness prevention, it […]
Redeeming My Racist Ancestors Vayetse 5780 | 12.6.19
When I was in college and really starting to explore my Judaism and where I came from, I once asked my Dad, “How did your Southern, Christian family first react […]
Justice Organizing Team: A City We Believe In
Budget Proposal Recap: Chicago’s Aldermen are currently reviewing Mayor Lightfoot’s budget proposals, with a deadline of December 31 set for the vote for the 2020 budget. Some of the key […]
An invitation.
There’s a famous story about a brilliant young man who entered Harvard Law School at the age of 18. It was 1875, a time of anti-Semitic discrimination and quotas. The […]
Rosh Hashanah 5780: Holding on While Breaking Away
I took my first trip to Israel in 2002 for two months, and at the end of the trip we took a survey about how our sense of Jewish identity […]
Rosh Hashanah 5780: The Truth in Small Moments
Early one morning in August 1993, Jose Antonio Vargas’ mother dragged him out of bed and brought him to an airport in the Philippines. He was twelve years old. His […]
When the Barber Shop Gets Spiritual
Every year I discover new dimension in the Jewish calendar, sparking my curiosity about some ancient custom or ritual and looking for meaning and application in my everyday life. Enter […]