Tetzaveh, Exodus 27:20-30:10 In Jewish tradition, we spend a lot of time trying to figure out God's will. We study the words of the Torah and their many interpretations in an attempt to understand what message God might be sending us. But what if there were a way of asking God a question? What if we could communicate directly with...

Five years ago, my brother requested an unusual 50th birthday gift. He asked if we would join him to work for a couple of days in hurricane-ravaged New Orleans. We readily agreed. On our last day there, we explored neighborhoods beyond the severely damaged St. Bernard Parish, where we had joined a remarkable gathering of volunteers of all ages from...