Open any newspaper, or click on any online news site, and, virtually every day, you will find descriptions of “DEI” as an extremely harmful phenomenon. DEI is seen by some as the source of destructive and divisive perspectives on education, on American society, and on American history. For some, DEI seems to threaten the American dream and is the enemy of thoughtful Americans. Some Jewish communities believe that DEI practitioners often fail to understand the complexities of

Earlier in my career, I had the deep privilege of doing hospice work. I drove around from house to house to sit with people for whom death was near. Friends often asked me whether the work was hard. It certainly was, but it was also a great blessing to be in spaces where the reality of death inspired reflection on what life is about. When you face death squarely, paradoxically, your values, priorities and sense of the meaning of life become vividly apparent. When they knew th

(Adobe Stock photo) Many years ago, I spent Shabbat at the home of a rabbi and rebbetzin at a religious community in Gush Etzion, a group of Israeli settlements in the West Bank. For some years I had hesitated to spend time in such settlements, but I wanted to open my eyes and heart and see what I might learn. The rabbi was a close relative of a close friend of mine, so I felt a warm, familial connection. The family welcomed me graciously. Shabbat dinner was deeply moving. Th

When asked what my favorite Jewish holiday is, I always reply with an answer that may be surprising. Without question, Yom Kippur is my...

(Photo, Jehad Alshrafi, AP) I have always loved Parashat Ekev. It contains a wealth of majestic, powerful and beloved language. But...

Photo by Aaron Levy-Wolins, J. Staff Bay Area family’s generational discord over Israel is captured in series of letters BY ALIX WALL ...

The first question typically asked about the conflict of Korach with Moses is, “What did Korach do that was so terribly wrong? All he did...

from Truah, The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, truah.org I write on behalf of 56 local rabbis [the current number is 61] who have...

( istockphoto.com ) “Who is the person who truly desires life, loving each day, seeking out the good? Guard your tongue from evil and...

Jason Francisco, Jerusalem/al-Quds, June 2023 I am very pleased to share the publication of this article that my daughter, Penina...

​ Introduction from Rabbi Amy Eilberg Eight members of the Rabbinical Assembly, along with several spouses and friends, traveled to...

"SSelma Jubilee 2025," photograph my own The Israelite community comes together to accomplish a momentous task, constructing the sacred...

"Lamentations Over the Death of the First-Born of Egypt" by Charles Sprague Pearce (1877) As I write, the long-awaited cease-fire is in...

( istockphoto.com ) How will we get through the next four years? This week’s Torah portion, Vayetzei, offers some answers. Though there...

Dinner in Cantor David Frommer’s sukkah in his San Francsico home, Oct. 10, 2017. (David A.M. Wilensky/J. Staff) The wrenching...

TOPSHOT – A Palestinian girl looks for salvageable items amid the destruction on the southern outskirts of Khan Yunis in the war-battered...

Traveling recently on a Racial Justice Pilgrimage of leaders of the Conservative/Masorti movement, I visited a remarkable place called...

As Elul approaches, the exhortations of the High Holidays begin to ring in our ears, calling us to examine our lives and begin anew. I...

Immediately after landing at Ben Gurion Airport in May, we encountered an enormous display of large posters of the hostages still held in...

("Moses Strikes the Rock" by Richard Andre, 1884) In a world full of rage, this week’s Torah portion (Hukat) brings us an important...