Matan Koch
As I count the Omer, it is impossible not to think of the seven-week journey. For those of us that have studied Jewish tradition, it is a truism that the Israelites did not leave Egypt primarily to escape slavery but rather to be free to serve God. They took a risk for a reward.
The Israelites were certainly aware of the risk. In what we would now call a good kvetch, they regularly looked at the hardship of the journey and reminisced about the illusory safety and comfort of their enslaved status. Except they weren’t really harkening back to comfort, as forced labor, inhumane conditions, and even the potential risk of death by an overseer, as we read earlier in Exodus, could not have been fond memories. Instead, I think they were lamenting their newfound lack of certainty and the unknown reward in exchange for known risks. [continue reading…]
Interfaith conversations and programs are a staple of the 
As I was reading Shelly’s introductory note, I couldn’t help but reflect on the deep significance of building a house of worship that draws everyone into belonging. I think many of us have probably noted the inherent dichotomy between the Torah’s exclamation that we were all designed in the image of God, with the observable range of difference of humanity. Growing up in a post-Enlightenment Reform household, we were taught that this referred to the best parts of our natures, our love, our altruism, our morality and nobility.
