Wandering Through the Desert: Sifting Through Our Past on our Way to Revelation
During Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur we cast our sins in to the desert, freeing ourselves from their oppressive burden, unshackling our hearts and minds so that we can begin the year anew. Six months later another new year arrives (Exodus 12:12). After a period of enslavement we find ourselves once again loosening our chains and opening our souls, ready to reencounter that which we cast away.
The Megaphone of Money in American Politics
While the sums are larger and the stakes are higher in recent times, the fear that money corrupts those in power is an age-old issue. As far back as the Hebrew Bible those concerned with justice warned against the powerful and dangerous effects of money in politics.
A Woman is Acquired
“A woman is acquired [in marriage] in three ways…by money, by document, or by intercourse.” This is how the first mishnah in the tractate Kiddushin begins. In just this sentence alone we gain a window into how women were seen in the world of the rabbis. As each subsequent generation—from the Talmudic sages of 600 CE to 20th century feminist scholars—probe this Mishnah, the meaning of this statement is investigated, challenged, and, ultimately, transformed.
To Work the Earth of My Heart: Memorizing the Sermon on the Mount
I just returned from my last final of the semester. It was…unconventional, to say the least. Instead of sitting in a wood-paneled classroom for three hours getting intimate with a blue book, I spent the last weekend sitting on a couch by a fireplace at a Mennonite retreat center in Michigan. This was my final. [...]
From Prejudice to Pluralism: Surfacing the Unconscious
By witnessing and transforming the most troubling parts of our religions we will transform ourselves and, in doing so, our relationship to those of other faiths. This work must begin with each of us allowing ourselves to be aware of what troubles us about our faith, but this work cannot be fully done alone, or even just with those within our own community. Each of us uniquely mirrors aspects of Gd and those of us from different faith traditions have different lenses through which Gd is experienced. If a goal is for more of Gd to show up within these conversations, then we need one another.
The little-known eleventh commandment: Get over yourself
The thing about diversity is that, if people are being intellectually honest, tensions will arise from time to time. The brochures that talk of rich learning opportunities don’t tell you that the photos of a carefully selected group that fills many available demographics don’t suggest it; the list of event supporters includes names that cover [...]
Becoming Our True Selves: A Rosh HaShannah Reflection
How do we spiritually prepare for the High Holidays during the busiest time of the year?
God Questions
Many Jews, as we enter into our 20s, begin to critique the religious education we were given as children. While we were perhaps taught the importance of community, the obligation to tikkun olam, or the words of the prayer book, when we get a bit older and look back on what we learned, we realize [...]
Experiential Intersections- A Christian Learns to Pray
Prayer can be very difficult. I know this because many of my friends and acquaintances, from various backgrounds, have expressed to me their struggles with prayer. Some do not know what to say. Others think it is pointless and some are extremely uncomfortable, even offended, by group or public prayer. From a personal perspective, I [...]
Who Is A Jew? – Letter to a Potential Convert
My understanding of Jewish identity has changed over time, and has included ideas that touch on many of the views articulated in our texts: Jews are people who go to synagogue, Jews care about social justice, Jews are the kids of Jewish parents, Jews speak Hebrew, Jews have a special connection to the land of Israel, Jews believe in Gd, Jews believe in the Torah, Jews are ethical and caring people, Jews love studying texts, Jews are committed to community. Of course, there is no one description that can capture what it means to be Jewish. For every definition one can think of, there are Jews who believe or behave oppositely.
Contributing Scholars
Honna EichlerHonna is the Managing Director at State of Formation. She has a Master of Divinity from McCormick Theological Seminary and works in Chicago, IL.
Yaira RobinsonYaira is Jewish, married, and mother to two boys who make her laugh every day. As Associate Director of the Texas Interfaith Center for Public Policy, she works with Texas religious communities to promote social and environmental justice. She recently completed her Master's of Theological Studies at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. Yaira is fueled by gratitude, laughter, and sometimes unhealthy amounts of coffee.
Sarah J. Blake LaRoseSarah J. Blake LaRose is an ordained minister with the Church of God (Anderson, IN) whose special areas of interest are biblical languages, ministry with seekers, and equipping the church to include people with special needs. Sarah is the author of two chapters in Discipleship that Transforms: An Introduction to Christian Education from a Wesleyan/Holiness Perspective, published in 2011 by Warner Press. She presented a paper with Lauren Tuchman entitled "Using Technology to Meet the Needs of Biblical Language Scholars Who Are Blind" at the annual meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature in San Francisco in 2011.