What I Learned From Elie Wiesel
Every once in a while, maybe even once in a lifetime, someone comes into your life, unexpectedly, and changes it forever. That happened to me in the Fall of 2001. By this time, I had already gone back to school with my ultimate destination being theological school. A friend of mine was already in school [...]
Suicide: Virtuous or Tragic?
Writing about the emotionally sensitive topic of suicide within the context of religion left me somewhat perplexed and uncertain as to where I personally stand concerning the controversial act itself. Before doing such extensive reading on the subject of suicide, I believed passionately that taking one’s own life is always destructive and negative, that it [...]
Passover — The Time of Our Freedom
Pesach (Passover) is, without a doubt, one of the most widely observed, if indeed not the most widely observed holiday on the Jewish calendar. Pesach is personally my favorite holiday. Despite the massive amount of preparation involved, I find the spiritual message of Pesach immensely compelling. Pesach is the festival that marks the Jewish people’s [...]
Passover: Prison, Oppression and Modern Day Pharaoh
Bringing our discussions from Prison Ministry into my own preparations for Passover has opened up my midrashic imagination to the connections between ancient and modern day oppression. Learning about the discrimination and racism built into the foundation of our prison system has prompted me to ask: What can Exodus account can tell us about the factors that led to the enslavement and oppression of the Israelites in our Passover story, and what can this teach us about oppression in our time?
Racism in America as Noted by a Light-Skinned, Mexican-American
Ever been followed in TJ Maxx because you are not white? I have. Ever been told, “You aren’t Mexican, you are too light. You must be Spanish?” I have. Ever have your former in-laws complain about all the “stupid Mexicans” they encounter? I have. Ever have someone tell you, “Well, you are light-skinned, not like [...]
An Invitation to Us All: The Coalition of Immokalee Worker’s Fast for Fair Food
Fasting when justice is absent, as with the CIW’s Fast for Fair Food, provides individual bodies a time to change our rhythms, learn new cycles, to find sustenance in each other when we are unable or unwilling to take sustenance from food. If the fast is successful, Publix will accede to the demands of the CIW to bring justice to the tomato fields.
When rain doesn’t fall, the earth grows cracked and dusty, plants do not grow or wither in mid-season. When the rains of justice don’t fall, workers are exploited, treated like units of production rather than partners in cultivation and harvest.
Jews around the world will be fasting on March 7th for Taanit Esther, embodying the three-day fast of the Jews of Shushan, who heeded Esther’s call for a community-wide fast before undertaking a campaign to change the fate of the community. We have the chance this year to bind up our fast with the Fast for Fair Food, as a community of farmworkers and allies fast for six-days in recognition that the rains of justice have yet to fall on the fields of Immokalee.
Homosexuality: A Microcosmic Electronic Post to a Virtual Wittenberg Church Door
The approach I took in writing this essay might be perceived by some as an ultimatum. I hope my decision to be utterly transparent and painfully honest will be seen as an opportunity for dialogue rather than defiance. As I began to compile these questions, most of my thoughts were aimed towards the challenging decision [...]
Lent – A Season of Mindfulness
Lent is an opportunity to walk mindfully through the wilderness, in order to be more attentive and intentional to our selves and to one another.
Lent: Following Jesus into the Wilderness
According to a common story found in the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke), Jesus does not go right into his ministry following his baptism. Rather, Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness for 40 days, “…so that the devil might tempt him” (Matthew 4:1, CEB translation). While he was in the [...]
Ashes That Dare Us to Live
“What are you giving up for Lent?” This question will be shared around this week for many Christians as they enter into the Lenten season beginning with Ash Wednesday. People will “give up” anything from soft drinks and swearing to Facebook and chocolate. Emerging from a very spirit-filled Fat Tuesday, Christians will quickly turn to [...]
Contributing Scholars
Ela MeromEla is an ordained rabbi, a seeker of truth, fascinated with the paths to the divine in the everyday and the extraordinary. She is now in the midst of birthing a new progressive prayer group in Tel Aviv, where she lives and works.
Kelly Figueroa-RayKelly West Figueroa-Ray, 34, is a Ph.D. student in Comparative Scripture, Interpretation, and Practice at the University of Virginia. She is focusing on the relationship between scripture and theology as it is lived out in communities of faith with a particular interest in multicultural Christian ministries.
Lee PaczullaLee is an MDiv candidate at Harvard Divinity School, preparing for ordination as a Unitarian Universalist (UU) minister. She spent the last five years doing community-based youth development and health action work in Washington, DC, and has a BA in psychology and women’s studies from Swarthmore College.