A Joyful Funeral: The End of Ordination in Cincinnati
In the fall of 2018, a classmate was getting married at Plum Street Synagogue, and I was asked to recite one of the Seven Blessings. We were told to walk […]
May 8, 2026
April 20, 2026
This One’s A Kippah: Debating My Daily Head Covering Practice
“From this moment on, people will look to you as a rabbi, whether you like it or not. You’d better start behaving like one.” These were the words shared at […]
March 26, 2026
Playing More Than Just the Classics: How We Can Lift Up Diverse Voices in Jewish Scholarship and Why It Matters
Every year during Chanukah, I buy each of the teachers in my religious school a book as a gift. I go to Joseph-Beth in Rookwood and spend well over an […]
March 12, 2026
How Our Shabbat Dinner Turned from a Disaster Into a Profound Gift
Historically, our congregation’s Middle School class has taken a trip to either Chicago or Detroit every year, both as a learning opportunity and a chance for bonding and memory-making. Over […]
February 26, 2026
The World Baseball Classic Allows Jews to See Israel in a Different Light
The Olympics came to a close this weekend, concluding our bi-annual celebration of athletic prowess and national pride. In a political climate where supporting one’s country is perhaps as hard […]
February 12, 2026
As a Jew – Sarah Hurwitz Confronts What It Means to Reclaim Jewish Self-Identification
If they were alive to see it today, the Maccabees would hate the way American Jews celebrate Chanukah. For the Hasmoneans (the dynasty the Maccabees founded), the central conflict of […]
January 30, 2026
With a Government Shutdown Looming, We Can’t Be Afraid To Call Out Evil For What It Is
If Donald Trump is good at one thing, it is controlling the narrative. The man has been impeached twice, precipitated an insurrection, been linked to multiple sex scandals, and abused […]
January 8, 2026
Fitting for a King: The David Story for a New Generation
When I told my mother that I went to see the new David movie, her first question was, “Was it super Christian?” It wasn’t an unreasonable question. As I sat […]
December 18, 2025
Our Jewish Community Can No Longer Afford to Tiptoe Around the Issues of the Day
As a rabbi, politics can be a very dangerous subject. On the one hand, ignoring America’s political landscape risks rendering the work we do in the synagogue tone-deaf and oblivious. […]
November 13, 2025
The Ultimate Failure Of Emancipation
There are few concepts as polarizing and divisive in today’s society as that of Zionism. To be a Zionist is, at the same time, a powerful ingroup and a cruel […]