Dreaming Big
We need to address our day to day needs, to address crises as they arise. But we need to be dreaming big again, aspiring beyond the work of a day to the work of a people.
Jewish Pragmatism
For most of our history, Jews lived under foreign rule, and for the most part we had to bow our heads and lay low. As a persecuted minority, making demands was not possible and describing ourselves with pride was not recommended.
בירגערשאַפֿט
איך װענד צו אײַך, אַז איר זאָלט קײן מאָל נישט זיך מתיאש זײַן פֿון אַמעריקע, און זאָגן, איך האָב פֿײַנט דעם לאַנד, דערפֿאַר זאָל איך אַװעקפֿליען פֿון דאַנען.
Holiness, Nation, Humanity
In a society dominated by Nation, we get Fascism; in a society dominated by Holiness we get religious fundamentalism and theocracy; in a society dominated by Humanity, we may lack law and order as well as spirituality.
Comparative Futurisms
The development of Zionism and Jewish diaspora nationalism finds parallels in domestic Black radicalism, diaspora anti-colonialism and the actual Anti-Colonialist struggle in Africa.
Esau and Narratives
I have become more and more dissatisfied with the rabbinic recreation and demonization of Esau.
Toldot — The Greater Good
“We live in a fantasy world, a world of illusion. The great task in life is to find reality.”
Jewishness as Substance
What is Goldstein referring to when he mentions, “this most Jewish of communities?” Los Angeles as a city?
Chayei Sarah — Sudden or Gradual Pain
What is more beneficial, being gradually exposed to a difficult situation, or being shocked by it?
Poetry in LA
Coming to Los Angeles I was hoping to find that sense of poetry as a prevailing wind, but it has mostly eluded me.
Vayera - Descending
When God descends - it is a positive occurrence because this is when prophecy occurs. When God descends, it means that those with the ability to do so can tap into the essence of life itself, to true wisdom. But when God ascends it is negative - because this means that our ability to connect or understand the divine essence is slipping away, moving away from us.
Lost in Los Angeles
To be lost in America is a bit like being lost in Los Angeles, a feeling that I still have after five years here.
Lekh Lekha: Two Covenants
“Can I still be Jewish if I don’t believe in God?” I am asked by many of my students. “Do you have a Jewish parent?” I ask back. I then of course proceeded to explain to them how Jews in Germany who did not practice Judaism for a single day in their lives, were murdered because it was discovered that they had a Jewish grandparent…
די ראָזענבערגס
עס איז נישט געװען איר שװער צו זען די ראָזענבערגס װי קרבנות פֿון אַמעריקנישע נאַציס און זייער יודענראַט, זײערע קאַפּאָס.
Our Calendar
The calendar is what connects the Diaspora to the Land. No matter where we live, we live under the same sky.
The Place Where We Are Right (Noach)
What is just for one person, may be unjust or unfair to another. Humans are complex and hold complex needs, but yet we must apply the law in a way which is inclusive to everyone.