A few Jewish friends who happen to work in Jewish organizations have recently said on Facebook that they have received the anti-Semitic robocall that’s going around. Rabbi Milder of Congregation Beth Emek in Pleasanton was one of them and I’m sharing what he wrote to his congregation. I got the call. When I arrived…
Read More »I wrote the opinion piece for the J-Weekly because so many Jews told me they felt pressured to embrace Christmas. Please expand your idea of what other people “should” like. Growing up without a formal religion in the United States can lead many people to insist, “I have no religion. I’m certainly not a Christian.”…
Read More »Every 9/11 we remember that hellish morning when we learned that planes had hit in New York, Washington DC, and Pennsylvania. We know just where we were standing, what we were doing when we learned of the attack. One young man, an Oakland firefighter who went to New York as part of the mobilization of…
Read More »We are reeling from the events in Charlottesville. Across the Jewish community clergy and laypeople are moved to words and actions. Here are some from the Bay Area. Cantor Chabon, B’nai Tikvah, Walnut Creek The older I get, the more I understand that living a fulfilling life depends on how we respond to the joys…
Read More »Are you worried about whether there is a two state solution in Israel? So is Rabbi Milder of Beth Emek. He sent this message to his congregation. (Thank you to Rabbi Milder for letting me reprint this.) The Two State and the One State I watched the press conference held by President Trump and Prime…
Read More »The Bay Area Interfaithfamily Facebook group shared the photo above and this quote from a discussion panel taking place at the Boston conference they are sponsoring on interfaith topics: Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie of Lab/Shul: “Judaism can be experienced as living in forts (walled off, closed off, frightened) or in ports (open, porous). (Quoting Rabbi Louis…
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