I’m thrilled you are exploring Society Hill Synagogue and have found your way to the page of Divrei Torah, words of Torah, which are part of a generations-long Jewish practice of refracting sacred Jewish teachings through the light of our own day and age.
For me, Judaism is an opportunity to nourish ourselves, grounded in the Jewish story: a story that has unfolded throughout the generations, with twists and turns, tragedy and triumph, serving as a source of life to those who engage with it.
The Jewish People are known as B’nei Yisrael: the people who wrestle with the Divine. The name comes from that moment in our tradition in which it is understood that our ancestor Jacob “wrestled with a figure,” a figure understood to be a manifestation of that very Divine Being (see Genesis 32).
That moment produced a legacy of sacred wrestling; grappling; seeking to make meaning of, and find purpose in, our time on earth.
These Divrei Torah are my efforts, in conversation with the community of Society Hill Synagogue, to make meaning and to find purpose, seeking to serve this community, our broader world, and the Divine.
I hope you find meaning in them yourself, and I encourage you to reach out to me if you would like to discuss their contents or to discuss becoming a part of the Society Hill Synagogue community. Welcome!
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Finding God in Alienation
Dear Friends, About a month after October 7, my wife Caroline, stretching to find something with which to introduce the Israeli-Palestinian conflict — and, more precisely, a pathway through it to a better future — to our daughters Lila, 4 (and a half, she would
Thank you, and upcoming events
Dear Friends, I want to start by saying thank you. Thank you so much for your collective response to our call for contributions at the end of the year to help us meet this community’s needs. We exceeded our ambitious goal of $45,000 and it
Gut-Wrenching Reporting
Dear Friends, It is heartbreaking to continue to reflect on the war flowing out of the October 7 massacre. I wrestle with whether ongoing commentary from me is worthwhile or whether we all just need a break. Of course we recognize that Israelis and Palestinians
A Different Kind Of Hanukkah
You all think you know the story of Hanukkah, don’t you? You think it’s about that little vial of oil that was only supposed to be enough to keep the temple menorah lit for one night and yet lasted for eight. Or perhaps you say,
Three Really Hard Incidents in Philadelphia This Week
Dear Friends, The reverberations and fallout from the October 7 massacre persist. Of course within Israel—victims and hostages and their families, soldiers and their families, and really every citizen of Israel experiencing their world turned upside down; for residents of the West Bank and Gaza,
Pain, Heartbreak, and the Voices of our Parents
This week’s parashah is action packed. It begins with our ancestor Jacob preparing to meet his twin brother Esau for the first time since Jacob deceived their father Isaac and stole the sacred blessing from him; it also includes that seminal moment in Israelite history
The Return of Hostages: Where Do We Go From Here?
Dear Friends, This has been both an inspiring and continuously heartbreaking week; the latter word—heartbreaking—I’ve been using so often lately as to put it in danger of becoming trite, and yet that is the effect of the images we see pouring out of Israel and
Reflections on the Israel March in DC
Dear Friends, I joined over 290,000 people at the National Mall in Washington DC on Tuesday for the March for Israel, March to Free Hostages, and March Against Antisemitism. While I did not agree with everyone that was selected to be a speaker at the
The Role of Siblings
I have the privilege now of offering some words of Torah, reflecting on the same parashah, the same Torah portion Alexander and Jenavive will speak about tomorrow, as they share with you all — their family, their community — the results of their process of Yisrael,
Questions — and an attempt at answers — on the ongoing war
Each week I wrestle anew with the events unfolding in Israel, Gaza, and around the globe, thinking about them in different ways. This week, is strikes me that the national and international discourse about Israel and the war between Israel and Hamas is addressing a
How We Show Up For Each Other
I have the privilege now of offering some words of Torah, reflecting on the same parashah, the same Torah portion Bjorn will speak about tomorrow, as he shares with you all, his community, his process of Yisrael — of wrestling with God, as that word
Ongoing Struggling With Israel, Gaza, And Antisemitism
Each week, I struggle with the events in Israel, Gaza, and around the globe. And when I say struggle, I really mean it: Struggle with how we got here, struggle with what we do next; struggle with how we make sense of the complex human
What “Faith” Means To Jews
I have the privilege now of offering some words of Torah, reflecting on the same parashah, the same Torah portion Max will speak about tomorrow, as he shares with you all, his community, his process of Yisrael — of wrestling with God, as that word
Unfolding Responses to War
I said above that I had some additional thoughts to share on the war, evolving as they may be as events unfold. I am largely reiterating some core principles that are informing me as I seek to make sense of, and respond to, this moment.
The Power of Gathering
Dear Friends, It goes without saying how heavy a toll this month has taken: on our souls, our spirits, our psyches—to say nothing of the direct devastation wrought on the lives and the communities in Israel and in Gaza. We feel it. I continue to