At the Red Sea, the children of
Israel stood paralyzed, a great sea
before them and the mighty Egyptian army at their backs. It took a brave volunteer, Nachshon, the chief of the tribe of Judah, to wade into the water and show them that the sea would split, just as God and Moses promised. "For that reason the tribe Judah was worthy to be made the ruling power in Israel" (Babylonian Talmud: Sotah 37a).Volunteering often often feels like that: caught between family and work responsibilities on the one side, and the seemingly endless needs of the less fortunate on the other side. It's not easy to take the plunge.

Hayom katzar, v'hamlakhah m'rubah
The day is short, the task is great

You are a leader. In your home, your family, in your community, in a business. You have responsibilities for others. All year long, you are responsible for evaluating
whether those you lead are proceeding as they should. On the
morning of Yom Kippur, you have the opportunity to "self-correct,"to examine yourself and how, in the past year, you might have exercised your leadership differently.

Slach lanu, m'chal lanu, ka'per lanu

Forgive us, pardon us, grant us atonement

The old adage "two Jews, three opinions" is a humorous way to address the challenge of bringing Jewish people and diverse communities together. The best tool that we have to bring people together across boundaries is still a shared love for discussion. Through learning and honest intellectual
engagement, we affirm that there are many branches on our Tree of Knowledge.
Am Yisrael chai
When we are with each other, Israel lives

"Many Jews have ambivalent feelings about the Occupy Wall Street Movement ... Americans are not upset that there is income inequality in this country, but rather they are upset that it seems that now those in the lower economic echelons do not get a fair chance at raising themselves out of their current state ... We have a lot to teach about sustaining hope and the power the simple act of hope has to propel people forward to achieve great things..."

A mezuzah, no matter how small or how grand, is the essential marker of a Jewish home.

Rabba Kaya Stern-Kaufman of Great Barrington MA founded The Interfaith Peace Chant. The Chant group meets monthly at the Quaker Meeting House in Great Barrington,MA to pray together from all faith traditions, for Peace. We have had spiritual leaders attending and leading chants from the Christian, Sufi, Sikh, Native American, Buddhist and Jewish traditions so far.
The vision statement is:

Being a Rabbi without Borders means looking at the rabbinate in ways not grounded in any movement. It means that we must concentrate on ideologies and actions that unite us — and fight against the forces that seek to disjoin us. It means looking at new ways and avenues to bring healing to a world. Working with the Good People Fund for the past three years, our congregation has been involved with McRoberts, Kentucky — a community in the heart of Appalachia.

Rosh Chodesh, when a sliver of moon appears in the sky marking the beginning of a new month, is a time of celebration. The stars can be seen the most clearly, and we articulate ourwishes for the coming month. In the past twenty years, Rosh Chodesh has been reclaimed byJewish women as a time for reflection, healing, and celebration.
Chodesh tov!
Have a good month!

If we say "We were slaves in Egypt" during Passover, shouldn't we be saying "We were free at the foot of
Mount Sinai" on Shavuot? For on Shavuot, we celebrate the moment when we stood at Sinai and became a people. Just as the Passover seder allows us to experience the movement from slavery to freedom, studying together with Jews from diverse communities on the eve of Shavuot allows us to ree slavery to free-act the time we all stood at Sinai. In sacred conversation, we challenge each other to see our ancient text anew. We celebrate our unity by asking the questions we can't answer alone.
Asarah she'yoshvin v'oskin ba'Torah Shekhinah sheruyah beinei'hem
When ten people study Torah together, the Divine Presence hovers over them

Just as you can choose to hear the questions the ticket and security agents have asked you as spiritual questions upon your departure, you can also choose to hear the questions the customs agents ask you upon your return as spiritual questions.

L'shanah ha'ba'ah bi'Yerushalayim

Next year in Jerusalem