Posted by in Uncategorized It is approaching fast. That is the deadline to register to vote in the November election. Here is California we are voting not only for Governor, Lt. Governor and one of the Senate seats but we are voting for Attorney General. This is a very important position. It is this position that brings lawsuits on…Read more »
Posted by in Uncategorized I am so thrilled that this year the very awesome, talented and spiritual Julie Silver will be celebrating Shabbat at Kol Ami with me. Julie has sung on several occasions at Kol Ami, including High Holy Days more than 14 years ago! This Friday night is the first of five Shabbatot this year: Friday night,…Read more »
Posted by in glbt, Uncategorized This is a letter to the Publisher of the Jewish Standard who recently succumbed to pressure from the Orthodox community to retract gay and lesbian Jewish wedding announcements in that paper. Dear Mr. Janoff: I am deeply disappointed in your paper’s (The Jewish Standard) policy to exclude gay couples from wedding announcements. What happened to…Read more »
Posted by in Uncategorized Don’t forget to show up tonight for the young people who were bullied to death. The rash of recent suicides because young people were bullied for being gay is shocking. It is time to make sure this stops. Even as the religious wing nuts continue to want to demonize gay people. No wonder some young…Read more »
Posted by in Uncategorized So where are the jobs? The economy is supposed to be getting better. They tell me jobless claims are down. Read this. Wall Street reacts positively to this news. But does that really mean more people are working? Or does it mean that more people just fell off the rolls? They have maxed out and…Read more »
Posted by in Uncategorized So Rick Sanchez is gone. Thank you Time Warner and CNN for quickly removing such a hate monger from the air waves. Sanchez in an interview on Sirius radio on the “StandUp with Pete Dominick Show ” made Anti-Jewish comments. He repeated old Jew-baiting hatred of control of the media and Wall Street. He called…Read more »
Posted by in glbt, Uncategorized Suicide in Judaism is forbidden. It violates one of the most important principles therefore choose Life. I wrote about this idea in my Yom Kippur Morning Sermon. Choosing life ought to inform our decision-making. And Suicide violates that principle. As does murder. All suicide is tragic but the four gay young people who committed suicide in…Read more »
Posted by in Uncategorized Parshat Bereshit Genesis 1:1 – 6:9 We begin again. The cycle of reading the Torah begins again. Simchat Torah, the holiday of rejoicing in the Torah that ends Sukkot and the flurry of holy days of Tishrei is the time we end and begin the cycle of reading our most sacred literature, the Torah over…Read more »
Posted by in Uncategorized Read this cover story in the Jewish Journal about the influence of Social Networking and media. I am quoted in the article. But more importantly it raises some really good questions and concerns about Jewish values in this new reality. How does Shabbat work? Can there be an electronic sabbatical? Does open wi-fi relate to…Read more »
Posted by in glbt, Uncategorized In recent days Bishop Eddie Long, the African-American pastor of a mega-church has faced allegations of sexual harassment by male parishioners. He has been accused of using his pulpit to influence young men. This from a preacher who has been consistently against same-sex marriage and has condemned gays and lesbians from the pulpit. Bishop Long has denied the allegations and…Read more »
Walking Humbly. Seeking Justice. Living with Hope. 