Ask the Rabbis | What is the Role of the Prophetic Voice in Today’s World?
HUMANIST The legendary civil rights activist Bayard Rustin summed up the kind of prophecy we need today when he said,
Ask the Rabbis | When Have You Changed Your Mind About Something Important?
“Way back when I was a normal yeshiva boy playing rabbi, I thought I was right about gay men not really being gay and that they should stop this nonsense and get right with Torah and find a nice Jewish girl. Until one day.”
Ask the Rabbis | What Impact Will Artificial Intelligence Have On People’s Spiritual Lives?
Artificial intelligence has been around ever since we plucked the fruit off the branch of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil and came away with clarity around neither.
Ask the Rabbis | What Does Israel Reaching 75 Mean in the Context of 3,000 Years of Jewish History?
These 75 years of the existence of the State of Israel do not just resolve 2,000 years of exile but bring to a climax 3,000 years of Jewish history.
Ask the Rabbis | What Jewish Wisdom Would You Offer Today’s Billionaires?
Best to hold on to it so you can enjoy your bounty, but make sure you leave some for me.
Ask the Rabbis | How Would You Counsel a Parent and Child Who Are Estranged?
I wouldn’t. Assuming the child in question is an adult, and depending on the degree to which the estrangement has festered, and barring cases of abuse, trying to heal such rifts is misplaced effort.
Ask the Rabbis | Can Jews Married to Non-Jews be Considered Spiritual Leaders in the Jewish Community?
Why not? Moses was not such a bad spiritual leader of our people, and he was married to Tziporah the Midianite.
Ask the Rabbis | Does Jewish Law Offer Guidance on How to Fight a War?
Before engaging an enemy in combat, we must offer to negotiate a peace (Deuteronomy 20:10).
From 2009 | Ask the Rabbis | When Does Life Begin?
Classical Jewish rulings concerning abortion rely primarily on the woman’s instinct, and they respect that until the fetus emerges from the womb, it remains an integral part of the woman’s body alone.
Ask the Rabbis | How Is Judaism Different After Half a Century of Female Clergy?
Fifty years ago, Sally Priesand was ordained as a Reform rabbi, the first woman clergy member in American Jewish history. To mark this anniversary, we asked rabbis, male and female, to reflect.
Ask the Rabbis | Is Political Compromise a Jewish Virtue?
That’s how Abraham resolves his dispute with Lot over grazing lands: “If you head left, I’ll head right. If you head right, I’ll go left” (Genesis 13:9).
Ask the Rabbis | How Do You Deal With People in Your Community Who Don’t Want to Get Vaccinated?
I don’t. It is not my place to nudge people to get or not to get vaccinated.