By Rabbi Rachel Esserman
The political debates about immigration continue and it’s unlikely the issue will ever be completely resolved – if only because each generation of Americans faces a different set of circumstances. What we rarely talk about during these debates is what these immi…
The last time I wholeheartedly admired a politician was Robert F. Kennedy in 1968. That’s one reason I’ve never read any books about him: I don’t want to know anything that might tarnish his image in my mind. From that time on, I’ve admired people’s actions, but never expected them…
My plans for the holiday were set before Purim last year. Then, of course, the pandemic hit and guests were uninvited as seders became limited to those living in the same household. I did have an option to attend a Zoom seder, but, after thinking about it, I decided to keep my Shabbat/chagim…
“We lost a year.” As the first anniversary of the pandemic hitting the U.S. approaches, some people are mourning what they see as a lost year. I question the value of looking at the past year through that lense. Should we not instead celebrate our resilience? Aren’t our lives more than…
The first draft of this column was written on January 27, the day that would have been my little brother Larry’s 59th birthday. I usually note the day, but this is the first time since he died in 2010 that I thought about how old he would be. I have to admit feeling teary at the thought. T…
