SermonSlam Rocks Brooklyn with Torah

By Derek M. Kwait January 30, 2014

“Sanctuary.” That was the theme the roughly 135 energetic young Jews of all backgrounds and beliefs huddled together  in a wallpapered synagogue ballroom on a below-freezing late January night in Brooklyn to hear sermons about. Better, to hear sermons slammed about. SermonSlam is as it sounds: Slam poetry, but for sermons. Each participant gets exactly…

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In Search of True Egalitarianism

By Amram Altzman January 27, 2014

  Growing up in the early 2000’s means I watched copious amounts of Arthur, Cyberchase, Pokémon, and Yu-Gi-Oh!; I knew the dance to “Soulja Boy,” played on my Gameboy obsessively, and ate Go-gurts (or the kosher equivalents thereof) on the school bus ride home. Growing up in the 2000’s also meant that I saw men…

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First Things To Teach Freed Slaves

By David G. January 24, 2014

In last week’s Torah portion, at Sinai, we accepted the need for a community, and the special place of awe-inspired individuals within such a community. God gave us some basic rules for this community, the 10 Commandments, and everything is finally looking pretty bright for the Jewish people on their journey from Egypt. Even if…

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Eat the Food Without Drinking the Kool-Aid: How to Get the Most out of Orthodox Outreach Programs

By David G. January 21, 2014

When I first started to attend a local Orthodox shul, I approached with what could be considered a strong level of trepidation. I grew up mainly Conservative, and considered myself as falling somewhere between the lines of Conservative and Reform. When I thought of Orthodoxy, I thought of my Pop’s narrow-minded uncle who never struck…

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Sacred Individuals, Holy Nation

By David G. January 17, 2014

]Often when I read the weekly Torah portion, I find myself struggling over something that I’m usually pretty sure has a simple answer. Sometimes the question might be a little out there too, like when I found myself obsessing over the word “good” in Bereishit, the first chapters of Genesis. This week, in Parshat Yitro,…

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Splitting the Sea and Other Personal Miracles

By David G. January 10, 2014

“For as you see the Egyptians today, you will no longer see them”. Thus the story of the Jewish people and their struggle with the Egyptians comes to an absolute finale this week. Moses and the people have been sent out of Egypt by Pharaoh only to be followed to the Reed Sea. Even with…

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The Holy Potential of Bling

By David G. January 3, 2014

  If you’ve been following the story so far, God, through Moses, has been sending plague after plague upon the Egyptians, steadily bringing the greatest empire on Earth to its knees all for the sake of a small nation of slaves. This week, in Parashat Bo,  the story is coming toward its great climax, with…

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How to Start Your Own Personal Exodus

By David G. December 20, 2013

Most of us have already seen this week’s Torah portion, Shemot. It’s taken right out of the epic film The Ten Commandments that we all grew up watching over Passover. Oh wait, it’s the other way around. This week’s portion is the opening of the book of Exodus. In it, we learn about Pharaoh being…

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Why not Just Forgive the Bastards?

By David G. December 13, 2013

This week’s Torah portion is one of ends. It’s the end  of Genesis, and along with the end of the first book of the Torah comes the end of Jacob’s life, thus also ending the of the story of our patriarchs. Jacob’s death stands out from the past deaths we have come across. When Abraham…

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Queering the Liturgy: To Adjust or to Search?

By Jonathan Katz December 12, 2013

It is a problem that I and many other queer Jewish students face: as religious folk, we want to pray. But how do we – gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans*, queer, and other identities across the “rainbow ” – connect with a liturgy that is often seen as heteronormative, cis-normative, and well, “straight”? Some say, “the…

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Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Iron Fist

By David G. December 6, 2013

Last week at my Torah study group, I had a heated discussion with a peer in which I passionately played devil’s advocate. The two of us began with the topic of whether the Jews have ever violently shoved religion down others’ throats, and it ended with discussions of Zionism and Native Americans. In the middle…

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Keepin’ it Real with the Israel Family

By David G. November 22, 2013

Anyone who has seen the movie Joseph King of Dreams or experienced the musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat will recognize the early scenes of these productions in this week’s Torah portion, Vayeshev. Vayeshev starts with Jacob finally thinking he could take a break, only to have things turn sour for his favored son, Joseph….

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South Park Brings Peace to the Middle East… For 10 Minutes

By David G. November 20, 2013

I have a confession. For all my self-proclaimed desire to rise above the profane, I absolutely love South Park. While the majority of this last season has been a bit of a disappointment for me, the creators of South Park offered up a true gem recently with the episode, “Ginger Cow. “ For most, I…

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Our Demons are our Angels

By David G. November 15, 2013

In last week’s Torah portion, we saw Jacob confront the twisted future image of himself in the shape of his father-in-law Lavan, coming out of his dealings with the crook as the better man. This week, in Parshat Vayishlach, Jacob confronts his past when he returns to the land of Canaan to find himself immediately…

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