While watching the inauguration of the new U.S. president at the American Cultural Center with a bunch of other expats, I had this wonderful feeling that the U.S. had finally done its tikkun (spiritual repair work)for the way African-Americans were treated way back when. I saw much pride in the face...

Until I was 20, I used to go to church almost every Sabbath. I never recall security guards. Yet I have almost never been to a shul on Shabbat that did not have a security guard. Here’s the email from YICC: Dear Members, In light of the situation in Israel, we will be extra cautious this Shabb...

We Jews have this tremendous yoke to carry. I try to take this "light unto the nations" bit quite seriously. And it depresses me when I read in the papers about the "thanks" certain people are getting for helping our country. For example, most recently I read that the State of Israel is about to raz...

It's usually fraught with disappointments. Aside from yesterday's Obama winning, of course. I'll start with these positive moments. I had attended a PeaceXPeace book launch of "60 Years, 60 Voices" featuring a lovely hardcover coffee table book covering the stories of 30 Palestinian and 30 Israeli w...

I've been having interfaith meetings for months, quietly, at my home. It all started with a chanukah party and then grew into a full-fledged proper interfaith group. The last time I announced on the local email group list that this week's meeting was going to be on Wednesday instead of Thursday (as ...

John Dear, is a Jesuit priest who has done jail time more than a few times, and is facing even more: all for being a nonviolent nonconformist who follows The Way Jesus taught one must be, to be an authentic......