In the days and weeks following October 7, I wrote A Prayer for Israel at War   that tried to give voice to what so many of us were feeling — heartbreak, horror, fear, and hope. It was a prayer for a time of conflict: for the safety of captives and soldiers, for the healing of the wounded, and for the strength to persevere through unimaginable grief.  But in the wake of the ceasefire and the return of hostages, it became clear that this version of the prayer no longer spoke to the spiritual...

There is a teaching in the Talmud so startling, so audacious, that it nearly takes my breath away each time I encounter it. Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar says that one who witnesses a person's death must rend their garments in grief. Why? Because it is akin to seeing a Torah scroll going up in flames. Just as one is required to rend their garments upon witnessing the destruction of Torah, one must similarly mourn the end of a human life (Bavli Mo’ed Katan 25a). What a shocking claim — that frail...

Perhaps the greatest of our contemporary sages, “Rabbi” Bruce Springsteen, once sang, “I believe in a promised land.”  Just five words,...