Image by Anil sharma from Pixabay Here’s a hot take. Is it time to abolish women’s sports, and just have competition classes based on other criteria, to make sure things remain reasonably fair for everyone? Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you have probably become aware of a controversy at the Olympics, involving two … Continue reading On Boxers and Misogyny

Image by Alexa from Pixabay I saw a plaintive tweet the other day, in which the person expressed the fervent desire to live in somewhat less historic times. I could definitely relate to that. Sadly, we don’t get to choose the times we live in. All we can do is choose how we react to … Continue reading Living in Interesting Times

Image credit: Pixabay I don’t often connect these little articles to the Torah portion, but this week we are reading Parashat Pinchas - the section of the Five Books of Moses named after the zealous priest Pinchas, the grandson of Aaron. Since this portion always falls during the summer, it doesn’t always get the attention … Continue reading Zealotry and Peace

Join us! I recently had the privilege of joining the Friends of Standing Together - an international network of supporters of Standing Together. Here is what they say on their website, and I couldn’t say it better. Standing Together  is a progressive grassroots movement mobilizing Jewish and Palestinian citizens of Israel against the occupation and … Continue reading Supporting Standing Together

Image by Jean Borges from Pixabay We are finally almost there! My son and his lovely betrothed are about to tie the knot. We are  currently in a blur of activity - so one of the casualties has been my weekly writing. I’ll be back in a couple of weeks - enjoy July in the … Continue reading Wedding Break

Image by istara from Pixabay I applied for a fellowship the other day, which required me to find, read in Hebrew, translate and interpret for a general audience a short passage about one of the Jewish holidays from a Hasidic master. Quite the mouthful! One of my favourite Shabbat readings is the work of Rabbi … Continue reading Keeping the Gold Untarnished

Image by PublicDomainPictures from Pixabay It is quite the week - Eid el Adha for Muslims, Juneteenth for USAmericans, the Summer Solstice for the Northern Hemisphere, the Winter Solstice for the Southern Hemisphere, and Indigenous Peoples Day here in Canada. A combination of remembrance and celebration all around. This post will be very short - … Continue reading Happy Week of Celebrations!

Image credit: Pixabay Today we are celebrating Shavu’ot - the Feast of Weeks, also known as Pentecost, because it is always exactly 50 days after Passover. This is a holiday with deep agricultural roots, but after the destruction of the Temple, the rabbis also invested it with the power of the Giving of the Torah, … Continue reading Accepting Obligations

Image by CatsWithGlasses from Pixabay June is Pride Month - a time of celebration of LGBTQI2S+ rights, as well as consciousness raising about the many dangers that still threaten queer people. Sadly, it is also a time when rainbow washing is in full force. What is rainbow washing? The Urban Dictionary defines it as follows: … Continue reading Happy Pride!

Image by Annette Meyer from Pixabay With Pride Month coming up, I wanted to just tell you something about a little-known Jewish observance - the 14th of Iyar, also known as Pesach Sheni, or second Passover. We observed it last week, with little fanfare - in fact, while Passover itself is one of the most-observed … Continue reading The Holiday of Inclusion