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).
29
Jun
28
Mar
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.
31
Jan
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).
15
Nov
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.
01
Oct
Beshert | From Longing to Belonging
As a young woman, Rabbi Judith Edelstein longed for a deeper connection to Judaism. She found it by chance when she picked up a flier at her son’s nursery school.
08
Sep
Ask the Rabbis | How Can We Avoid the Trap of Self-Righteousness?
Everyone wants to be right—in the right way. What’s the line between striving for moral perfection and being a jerk?
09
Jun
Ask the Rabbis | Does Absolute Evil Exist, and If So, What Does It Look Like Today?
Evil was introduced the moment God looked at Creation and “saw that it was good!” For the existence of good implies the existence of evil, just as big implies small and cold implies hot.
15
Mar
Ask the Rabbis | Post-Pandemic, What Elements of Virtual Judaism Will We Keep?
In 2018, as synagogues pondered livestreaming some services for the convenience of infirm relatives, we asked the rabbis to contemplate what was surely a distant, speculative future: “What role should virtual presence play in Jewish ritual and community?”
12
Jan
Ask the Rabbis | Jewish Ethics and Electronic Surveillance
Some issues dominate the news; others drift along under the radar. This is literally true of electronic surveillance, a worldwide and quickly growing force that could profoundly change our lives.
21
Sep
Ask the Rabbis | Should Jews Support Reparations for African Americans?
Our team of rabbis weighs in.