From the Executive Editor

In My Own Words:Statute of limitations and the High Holidays

by Rabbi Rachel Esserman

A 19-year-old Jewish college student dropped out of a state house race after admitting to harassing female students when he was in middle school. A non-Jewish doctor was fired from two training programs and her medical training certificate was revoked because of ant…

Off the Shelf: Family, friends and love by Rabbi Rachel Esserman

Sometimes the way you feel about a book depends not only on your mood, but what else you’ve read recently. Before reading the novels in this review, I’d been actively engaged in two different, very exciting fantasy series. The second in one series ended with a cliff hanger and I so wante…

Off the Shelf: Morality versus Divine command by Rabbi Rachel Esserman

“Thou shalt not murder” is one of the Ten Commandments. Yet, twice a year – during Rosh Hashanah and Shabbat Vayera – Jews read the Akedah, the binding of Isaac, which could also be called “the attempted murder of Isaac.” God tests Abraham by commanding him to sacrifice his son. …

In My Own Words: The summer of 2020 by Rabbi Rachel Esserman

The title of the article was not meant to be ironic. At the time the magazine was written (usually six months before it appears), it was still possible to imagine we could have “(the) Best Summer Yet.” The article asked readers to list answers to the following: “it wouldn’t be summer…

Off the Shelf: Children and parents by Rabbi Rachel Esserman

Tales of intergenerational conflict fuel novels and memoirs. The majority of these works focus on bad parenting and/or the inability to accept a child’s differences. Both are true of two recent works: Ilana Masad’s novel “All My Mother’s Lovers” (Dutton) and David Adjmi’s memoir …