The Advocate

If you don't follow me on Jewish Twitter (Jewitter), you might be surprised that I haven't spoken much about the horrors carried out by Hamas recently, or the terrors by the Israeli government. But I was and have been. Just not here. Because this wasn't the place or the time for me to emotionally process burned and behead Jewish babies alongside the corpses of Israeli women who were raped. The Gazan children orphaned, facing starvation and dehydration while bombs and rockets dropped on their homes. Still, after the initial shock and grief over the loss of life on every side, and after frantic concern for my family in Ramat Gan as well as my wife and children and synagogue (because violence in Israel-Palestine always spills over onto our respective diaspora communities), I'm ready as I'll ever be. Let me be clear: I'm a Zionist and a Palestinian Nationalist. I support a pluralistic and democratic Israel that endures as the fulfillment of the Jewish people's r...

Extra extra! A fantastic event is coming up, hosted here in San Leandro by my synagogue, Temple Beth Sholom! It's a combination of a Buy Nothing event and a voter registration drive. For those who may not know, Buy Nothing is a hyperlocal gifting project to promote sustainable and affordable sharing within communities. The voter registration drive is sponsored by Operation: Big Vote, from the Big Tent Collaboration, organized by our very own Bernard Ashcraft to help get more San Leandrans to the polls for this critical election year. Flyers and more detailed information are available below: Temple Beth Sholom October 23, 12 Noon to 3 PM 642 Dolores Avenue, San Leandro Items Will Include: Men’s and Women’s Clothing Baby and Kid’s Clothing Halloween Costumes Kid/Young Adult Books Toys and Games Kitchen Items Arts and Crafts Please bring bags to take your items home in. Able to volunteer or have questions? Email MollyinSF at gmail dot com. Refreshments for sale – bring cash. Voter r...

( Art by Ruth Schreiber ) Lo Bashamayim Hi : Not in Heaven , made famous by the Talmudic story of The Oven of Akhnai. (This story teaches far more than just this lesson, so definitely give it a read!) The phrase and story help to reflect the Jewish view of mitzvot, the feasibility of following halakha, and the importance of every generation to work to understand Torah. In short, it explains the justification of our authority, not God's, to create a Judaism that is meaningful for us here and now as it was for our ancestors in the past. NB: for any term you don't understand, Google is your friend! But I'm happy to answer more in the comments. Take note and take care.

Kavanah : the Hebrew word for direction, intention, or purpose. In its simplest meaning, it refers to concentrating the mind in the performance of a task, ensuring that it doesn’t devolve into rote, mechanical action. It is most commonly associated with concentration and intention in Jewish prayer, but the concept of kavanah applies to all mitzvot. Abraham Joshua Heschel, in his classic work God in Search of Man, explains that performing a mitzvah without proper kavanah is inadequate because while it might have a positive effect on the world, it leaves the doer of the mitzvah unaffected. The purpose of Jewish practice, he writes, is transformation of the soul. “A moral deed unwittingly done may be relevant to the world because of the aid it renders unto others. Yet a deed without devotion, for all its effects on the lives of others, will leave the life of the doer unaffected. The true goal for man is to be what he does.” NB: for any term you don't understand, Google is your friend!...

A while ago I started posting this topic on my other social media accounts to cultivate a healthier and more sustainable social media praxis. But I never thought to share them on here! Well, to correct that oversight, here are all the posts since I started in order from the very first to the most recent. NB: for any term you don't understand, Google is your friend! But I'm happy to answer more in the comments. *** What are #MyJewishValues? Well, these include aggadah, minhag, musar, and nusach that are part of my Torah, my yiddishkeit, but especially what I'm passing on to my daughters as the heritage they inherit. So, here goes... Avodah : work, worship, service. Especially the power and value of service in work as well as in worship. This is distinct from its original and modern meanings in Hebrew. For me, what is tikkun olam if not avodah persevering? Shalom bayit: peace and harmony in the home. For my family that includes equity in the division of domestic labor running...

[***Author's Note: all links posted here are necessary to fully understand and comprehend this material. Please read each linked piece in full in the order which it appears. Also, the author is aware that this post cannot, by the very nature of its subject matter, stand as a timeless and completely comprehensive account, or for inadvertent omissions or developments that change the content contained herein.***] Israel and Palestine. Oppressor and oppressed. Colonizer and colonized. Settlers and refugees. Murders and protectors. Both and neither. Two nations. Two peoples. Two religions. Too much horror and tragedy. Neither can live while the other survives they say, but neither will live if the other dies too. It's that simple -- and yet, actually, it's also not that simple. Indeed, if there is ever a truism when it comes to the Middle East, especially Israel and Palestine, it's that everything is always really simple and really complicated. Forget shades of grey! We...