The Ansche Chesed blog is a place where you can find enriching material to read about God, Torah and the Jewish People.
ROSH HaSHANAH, 5777 I stand before you, forced to select one of two unappealing options. Given the immense range of possibilities, given all the talent and wisdom and charisma out there, how is it possible that our system could not produce more exciting choices? And yet in the end, it is a binary decision.… Read more »
But Baldwin’s rage reminds us that the black and Jewish experiences of America have been very different: largely a liberation for one community, and largely enslavement for another. How much tension for black Jews, who experience both simultaneously! To help heal America’s ever festering wounds, we have to come to understand that experience.
Like all decent people, I feel sick from this dreadful weak in Florida.
Perched at the edge of Shavuot, Jewish thoughts turn to the meaning of ma’amad Har Sinai, the singular event of revelation, as described in Exodus 19. For all its grand drama, the mystical absorption, the thrilling pyrotechnics … is there anything here contemporary heterodox Jews can believe about revelation?
Inspired by the year-long theme of learning about other faith traditions at Ansche Chesed, I set out to find a partner to join me and our Community Chorus Shirei Chesed on a musical exploration of the shared texts – especially the psalms – and to ponder how our different religious traditions manage to draw on seemingly incompatible musical styles while creating a shared spiritual experience.
