blogs/rabbi-huberman

There is a line in the traditional "Grace After Meals" prayer which in recent years has been deleted by many Conservative and Reform congregations.
 
It is found in the Psalms, and it reads: 
 
"I was once young, now I am old. I have never seen a righteous man abandoned, or his children forced to search for food." (Psalms 37:25)
 
It's an interesting verse. It teaches that a righteous human being will always be welcome at someone's table, and that his or her children will not go hungry in difficult times.
Read more...

Jews with Disabilities: Reassessing the Torah
 
Are there times when it makes sense for Jews to disobey the Torah? Many scholars throughout our tradition have concluded that there are.
 
Jews are often referred to as the People of the Book, but really, that label is incorrect. More accurately, we're the People of Interpretation and Change.
 
Unlike many of our Christian counterparts, many Jews have trouble citing specific Torah passages based on chapter and verse. We are instead a religion of debate and dialogue, using the Torah as a springboard for discussion. Read more...

About ten years ago, while visiting my parents' Orthodox synagogue in Toronto, I was asked by the rabbi to speak one Shabbat afternoon about being Jewish in the small city of Fort McMurray, Alberta.

I had just published a book about the history of this unique city, located about six hundred miles north of the Montana border.

But Rabbi Raphael Marcus had one challenge to...Read more...

 
About fifteen years ago, while spending some time over Passover with my parents in Toronto, I accompanied my mother to the local kosher supermarket.
 
She asked to speak to the supermarket's resident rabbi, and posed to him the following question.
 
"Is tahini (sesame paste) kosher for Passover or not?"
 
"Hmmm." replied...Read more...

Judaism and the American Dream
 
If there was a list of expressions least heard in a Jewish home, the following would likely top that list.
 
"Young man, go to your room and read your Bible."
 
It's not something we say to our children, in part because Judaism raises many red flags when it comes to our children going off and studying...Read more...