When a complex system is far from equilibrium, small islands of coherence in a sea of chaos have the capacity to shift the entire system to a higher order.” – Ilya Prigogine, Nobel Prize-winning chemist A few weeks ago I saw an article hanging on a community bulletin board titled: “Creating an Island of Sanity Read More
Category: Social Justice
Lessons from Ships Adrift at Sea
The first week of July, a series of ships floated through our Sukkat Shalom. Aboard were lessons from the past and messages for a sustainable future. The first was the MS St. Louis which set sail from Hamburg, Germany to Havana, Cuba on May 13, 1939 with over 900 passengers, most Jewish, fleeing Nazi persecution. Read More
SPECIAL EVENT: Deepening Our Conversations on Israel & Palestine
Since October 7, it’s gotten harder and harder to have civil conversations about Israel & Palestine with people who don’t share our views. For some Jews the issues of the day are black and white, for many others they are a rainbow of grays. Either way, you’ve likely felt uncomfortable at some time since this Read More
Preparing for the 5784 High Holy Days of Awe: Week 7
Chesed: Channeling Love for Ourselves, Each Other, and the Worldby Debra Seltzer NOTE: This is the 7th and final post in a series written by KSS members linking social and environmental justice issues to the 7 sephirot of the Omer cycle. To read the past six posts, please check our blog archive. We have come to the last week of Read More
Preparing for the 5784 High Holy Days of Awe: Week 6
NOTE: This is the 6th in a series of posts written by KSS members linking social and environmental justice issues to the 7 sephirot of the Omer cycle. To read the past five posts, please check our blog archive. WEEK 6: Gevurah: May My Left Hand Share Its Cunning by Jan Leibovitz Alloy I don’t tweet. I don’t boast photos Read More
Preparing for the 5784 High Holy Days of Awe: Week 5
NOTE: This is the 5th in a series of posts linking social and environmental justice issues to the 7 sephirot of the Omer cycle. To read the past four posts, please visit our blog. WEEK 5: Tiferet: Opening to Beauty & Brokenness by Michelle Moskowitz Brown The light of Tiferet is strong, demanding, radiant. Notice colors this Read More
Preparing for the 5784 High Holy Days of Awe: Week 4
NOTE: This is the 4th in a series of posts linking social and environmental justice issues to the 7 sephirot of the Omer cycle. Previous offerings are available in the archive of this blog. WEEK 4: “I believe I can do this!”: Learning from Nezach – Confidence/Persistencea Collaborative Offering, curated by Debra Seltzer Just over a year Read More
Preparing for the 5784 High Holy Days of Awe: Week 3
WEEK 3: Being Anti-Racist: Learning from the Sephira Hod – Humility/Gloryby Debra Seltzer For those of you who read my post in week one, about Israel-Palestine, I left some threads that connect to this week of introspection. I wrote that “the United States is my own country, with its own challenges which I am committed Read More
Preparing for the 5784 High Holy Days of Awe: Week 2
WEEK TWO: Yesod (Foundation) and the Environment by Doug Calem For humans, the earth is the yesod — the foundation — that supports life. One might say that recorded history is also a record of our relationship with and attitude towards the earth. Most of the historical record reveals a belief that we are separate Read More
Preparing for the 5784 High Holy Days of Awe: Week 1
R’ Alan Lew suggested that we need to prepare ourselves if we expect to embrace the full potential of the High Holy Days of Awe. Thanks to KSS Social Action Team Leader Debra Seltzer for spearheading our activities this season. This is your formal invitation to join Sukkat Shalom for another seven week cycle of self-reflective provocations in Read More