I'm adding this piece of information to my post from yesterday so if you didn't read it, I invite you to read the thread below.

https://twitter.com/rabbisandra/status/1566190640051982336

The folks I have in my mind are rabbis, but this also holds true for white-presenting Jews who hold power in their community or white-presenting Jews who have asked a Jew of color to share their Jewish journey/story or have asked a BIPOC person "How are you Jewish?"

This tweet is for anyone but right now I am not happy with some of my rabbinic colleagues so if you are a rabbi I hope you read this thread. It is not up to us to publicly out how someone is Jewish. We should not be in the business of telling others if someone was raised, born, or converted to Judaism. Even if we believe the information is public. If we feel like we need to disclose that information publically, then we should at least check in with the person in question.

Good morning Twitter. It's Friday and I'm off today there is something extra special about being off during a traditional workday. So I want to share some things: I've been working at @ReconJudaism @RRC_edu for almost 5 months (tomorrow will be 5 months) I feel really lucky to work with my friends and colleagues.

Our Torah portion begins with Moses telling the people: 'I pleaded with the God . . . Let me, I pray, cross over and see the good land on the other side of the Jordan'. The text makes it clear that Moses was unhappy w/God's decree that he would not enter into the Promised Land. The one consolation for Moses is that God allows Moses to climb Mount Pisgah and 'gaze, to the west, the north, the south, and the east. Look at it well, for you shall not go across yonder Jordan'.

The desire for peace in our tradition is one of the strongest themes of Judaism.
In this week’s Torah portion Naso we have what I believe to be the most beautiful and familiar blessings from the Torah, the Priestly Blessing (Num. 6:24-26) May God bless you and keep you safe.
May God’s presence shine upon you, and be gracious to you;
May God’s face be lifted toward you and give you peace.

In the last part of the blessing, the desire for peace permeates our text and out liturgy.

This week's Torah Portion is Tazria-Metzora, and it's a Parsha we love to hate, universally dreaded by pre-B'nai mitzvah students. It's full of boils, fungal infections, rashes, sores, sprouting hair, bodily emissions, and other health conditions, really gross stuff. In the Torah, all of these physical conditions make a person temporarily unfit to be close to God. According to the Torah, the person afflicted with Tzara'at,

This week we begin the holiday of Passover, a holiday of joy, hope, and celebration as we retell the story of our exodus from Egypt and our escape from slavery. Our tradition tells us that every year during this holiday, we must retell this story as a reminder of who we are and where we came from.
During the Passover Seder, we ask the question: Ma Nishtanah Halailah Hazeh? Why is this night different? Well, you already know why?

This Shabbat is Shabbat HaGadol, "The Great Shabbat" - the Shabbat that comes right before Pesach. I read somewhere in rabbinical school that traditionally, this is the Shabbat where rabbis are supposed to give long and lengthy sermons on the importance of properly cleaning one's house for Pesach and getting rid of every crumb of bread and grains.

Warning long Torah thread: At my ordination, random people asked my Dad what he thought about his daughter being a rabbi. My father said that he always encouraged me to Dare to be Different. My Dad has told me that I remind him of his grandfather, my great grandfather. My Dad said that his motto equated to Dare to be Different. In Vayeishev Joseph is described by Rashi as someone who dressed his hair; he touched up his eyes so that he should appear good-looking.

Warning long thread on Shavuot: On the holiday of Shavuot, we receive not only the 10 Commandments but the entire Torah. We read from the Book of Ruth about a poor marginalized woman who had nothing, and very few options to improve her life. Ruth pretty much existed on the welfare of the time by gleaning the fields so that she and her mother-in-law Naomi could eat. Ruth, the outsider, the convert, the poor woman who would become the great-grandmother to King David.

Today is day 22 of counting the Omer: Chesed sh’b’Netzach. This week we enter into the week of Netzach, a week of endurance, fortitude and ambition. Today is Chesed, love within endurance. We are holy human beings & many of us have survived trauma, pain, abuse, & we also survive everyday challenges. We have survived because of our ability to love (therapy doesn’t hurt). Healing takes time. Healing takes patience & through it all, we still have the capacity to love.