Recognize the Power of This Time, and Its Potential for Change
By:
Rabbi Charles Kroloff
The High Holidays bring with them a creative tension: respect for tradition alongside a call for change, a time when we are aware of both our blessings and our responsibilities. We hear this piercing call at the center of our High Holiday liturgy: "Let us proclaim the sacred power of this day," we pray during Unetanah Tokef. "It is awesome...
For many years, it has been my privilege and pleasure to spend summers in Israel. With seven grandchildren close by, access to the family is easy and very satisfying. There is time to study and write, and to visit with the many friends who have made aliyah. My wife, Diane Cover, is able to pursue her passion for painting. The...
Over the last few months, I have had a front-row seat to history. Last May, I spoke at a public hearing of Manhattan's Community Board No. 1 in support of Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf and Daisy Khan, the husband-and-wife team that initiated plans to build a multistory Islamic center two blocks north of ground zero, once the site of the...
I admire my colleagues and friends who have been courageous enough to speak out against the anti-Islam hysteria that tends to surround conversations about the Islamic center being planned for a property that for many is uncomfortably close to ground zero. They have shown themselves to be paragons of religious tolerance, and for this, I commend them. But in the...
Amid a flurry of diplomatic activity regarding direct Israeli-Palestinian talks, a contingent from The Israel Project (TIP) met last week in the West Bank with Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat. Our goal was to help protect Israel, Jews and a peaceful future for Palestinians and Israelis by reducing the culture of hate that...
Sivan 9, 5773
