InCritical Issues: Divrei Torah
Hidden Peacemaking Lessons in the Three Weeks
On Tuesday, July 11, 2017, the Jewish world enters the period known as “The Three Weeks,” the mourning period for the destruction of the two…
Divrei Torah
InCritical Issues: Divrei Torah
Purim: The Amalek Within
There is nothing mysterious about why Purim has had such a compelling hold on the psyche of the Jewish people throughout the ages. The figure…
InCritical Issues: Divrei Torah
Returning to Zion: New Faces, Old Issues – Ezra and Nehemiah
When Persia became the dominant power in the Near East in the 6th century BCE, royal edicts allowed and even encouraged Jews to return to…
InCritical Issues: Divrei Torah
“Knowing the Soul of Your Enemy: Repairing Relationship through Tochacha” (Parashat Mishpatim)
Amidst the plethora of laws in Parashat Mishpatim, one had completely eluded my attention until I became involved in peace and conflict studies. The scenario…
InCritical Issues: Conflict Resolution
“ ‘Go according to the majority’ – But first know the 49 vs 49” (Parashat Mishpatim)
In this week’s parsha, the rabbis read the words in Exodus 23:2 “acharey rabim lahatot” to mean “go after the majority” (and not as they…
InCritical Issues: Divrei Torah
Is it Jewish to Forgive – a PRSC Study Guide
I frequently find myself in conversation with Jews who believe that forgiveness is not a Jewish practice. “The other person has to do teshuvah (make amends)…
InCritical Issues: Conflict Resolution for Middle School
Gifts of the Heart: Making School Communities Sacred (Parashat Terumah)
Imagine the scene. Moshe tells the entire community of Bnai Yisrael, not long after leaving Egypt and receiving the Torah at Mount Sinai, to offer…
Balak, Bil’am and BDS
Does a book thousands of years old have any relevance to our lives? Does a tradition of ancient and medieval origins bring any new insights to…
InCritical Issues: Divrei Torah
Parshat Trumah: “With their faces one to the other” – the Cherubim as an image of Disagreement for the sake of Heaven
This Shabbat, parshat Trumah, we read about the mitzvah of making the Cherubim (Exodus 25:18-20) “And you shall make two cherubim …. And the cherubim…