Published in the J Weekly of December 18, 2014: The first time I met my mentor, Rabbi Avi Weiss, he asked me in a low, soft voice: “Yonatan, tell me about your dreams.” In the years that followed, in yeshiva and then as rabbi of Congregation Beth Israel in Berkeley, I quickly learned that dreams […]

Published in the J Weekly of June 11, 2015 This week’s Torah portion, which contains the episode of the 12 spies and its aftermath, presents two distinct and problematic responses to moments of crisis. In the first instance — Israel’s initial response to the report of the spies — the failure lies in the human desire to […]

Published in the J Weekly of April 16, 2015 At times, silence is just a sensory experience, one devoid of any sound. At other times, however, silence speaks louder than words. For a moment, consider Aaron’s silence in this week’s Torah portion. As you might recall, Aaron turns silent upon hearing the tragic news of […]

Published  in the J Weekly of February 19, 2015 Do hypocrites deserve a place in our midst? We are often profoundly disturbed when the well-groomed, “clean” public image of a political figure, a communal leader — even an athlete, news anchor or movie star — is shattered. We find ourselves vexed by the distance between what […]

Published in the J Weekly of October 23, 2014 Noach Genesis 6:9-11:32 Isaiah 66:1-24 With the November elections coming up, I couldn’t help but think of Nimrod as the world’s first political figure. Like a well-run campaign, the Torah offers a biography of this rising star, detailing his background, pedigree and vocation: “Cush [the son […]

Dear CBI Family, The news from Jerusalem this morning breaks our hearts. The lives of four Jews were shattered in the midst of their prayers – violently taken away from this world as they were reciting the Amidah. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of Rabbis Moshe Twersky, Arye Kupinsky and Kalmen Levin, […]

Published in the Times of Israel on September 23, 2014 On Rosh Hashanah, many years ago, Abraham took his son, his only son, the one whom he loved, as we read in the Torah, to the place that God had shown him. The image of a father binding his son, his own son, a mere child, […]