Why do Jewish holidays and the holidays of so many other peoples and cultures coincide with the shortest days of winter? Mira Wasserman, Ph.D. offers this Talmudic teaching from Avodah Zara that touches on light, the turning of the seasons and ritual. This story emphasizes the commonalities among people and that all human beings are children of Adam, the first human.
Jewish ethics regards every human life as having absolute value. What follows from this is a vision of how society must be structured all the time, rather than a prescription for ER triage, as exemplified recently in the coronavirus pandemic.
Serving as central organization of the Reconstructionist movement
Training the next generation of groundbreaking rabbis
Modeling respectful conversations on pressing Jewish issues
Curating original, Jewish rituals, and convening Jewish creatives
