By Jake Green Image description: Blog image with a photo of a sunrise over a hazy, jagged, golden mountain range with clouds behind and in front of themountains. Text reads, “Sivan 5786 by Jake Green”. There’s a particular kind of exhaustion that comes from believing deeply in the possibility of a better world while living through evidence, again and again, of how far away it still is. As we begin Sivan and prepare ourselves for Shavuot, I find myself thinking about the wilde

By Rabbi David Jaffe Image description: Blog image with a photo of a sunrise over a hazy golden mountain range, trees, and hilltops fading in the fog off in the distance Text reads, “Iyar 5786 by Rabbi David Jaffe”. When I was studying in Yeshiva 25 years ago, I got a ride home one day from a man who spent most of the ride explaining to me that the concept of Tzelem Elokim, that humans are made in the Divine image, only applied to Jews. At the time, people who believed simil

By Rabbi David Jaffe Image description: Blog image with a photo of a sunrise over a foggy valley with trees and hilltops glistening in the golden sun.. Text reads, “Nisan 5786 by Rabbi David Jaffe”. A rejection followed by a welcome embrace at the start of this past Purim is informing the way I’m thinking about the upcoming Passover holiday. On Ta’anit Esther (Monday, March 1, the day before Purim) I was in New York City to officiate my uncle’s funeral. The shiva was that af