Dan Ornstein, at The Blogs

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Jun 5, 2024, 10:29 PM

Our ancient ancestors believed that we experience a sort of mini-death when we go to sleep. Though they were astute observers of dreams and of the body’s many functions, they had no understanding of how sleep works. In their...

Nov 21, 2023, 3:23 PM

I couldn't know what these Muslims in that chapel believed, how they felt about Jews or Israel – but I asked for their help

Sep 20, 2023, 5:12 AM

Dangling Firmly From The Weakened Arm Of God

I want to do an experiment with you. Wherever you're reading this article, if you wish and are able to do so, I'm going to invite you to stand up and remain in your place for a moment. You...

Aug 31, 2023, 1:05 AM

‘People Are Trees Of The Field’: The Tree Names Israeli/Jews Give Our Children.

The impressive scientific career and activism of Shikmah Bressler are by now world renowned. After her arrest on March 23, 2023, while leading a day of disruption as one of the founders of the Black Flag protest movement, her...

Nov 21, 2022, 1:01 AM

Rabbi, I don’t know what to say…

A couple stands arm in arm, supporting each other. (iStock)

When bad things happen to the good people we know, we want to help them, fix them, and support them - as soon as possible. What if that's not the best we can do?

Oct 2, 2022, 6:01 AM

When the tiny holds the tremendous

Illustrative. Containers filled with leftovers. (iStock)

Stubborn faith in the greatness that the few can accomplish is precisely the subversive, cosmos-shattering, inspiring essence of Judaism

Sep 11, 2022, 4:18 PM

Guard Yourself Diligently: An American-Jewish Journey

American Jews have had a complex relationship with antisemitism and its practitioners during our long history in the United States. Unlike African Americans and other ethnic groups, we mostly white Ashkenazim have been able to blend into the larger...

Apr 27, 2022, 5:50 PM

‘How Can You Eat At A Time Like This?’ Ritual (Especially) When Under Siege

“How can you eat at a time like this?” I cannot locate the origins of this figure of speech. Perhaps it was first used in a comedy sketch many decades ago, but it has since become a catchall for any...

Apr 20, 2022, 12:47 AM

Exodus in the grocery aisle: A personal Passover story

My aunt, Brenda Schuman-Post, is a professional musician who lives in San Francisco. She told me this story recently: * * * “I have been feeling very sad this year, that I wouldn't have anyone to tell the Passover story to....

Feb 13, 2022, 6:18 PM

The Profound Danger Of Obviousness

Peshitta! La, tzrikha… Mahu d’teima. This is no mystical incantation, a magical abracadabra hocus-pocus charm akin to that of the witches in Macbeth. It is the Aramaic rendering of the technical shorthand for a common logical argument found in the Talmud: This is...

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About Me

Dan Ornstein is rabbi at Congregation Ohav Shalom and a writer living in Albany, NY. He is the author of Cain v. Abel: A Jewish Courtroom Drama (The Jewish Publication Society, 2020. https://jps.org/books/cain-vs-abel/) Check out his website at danornstein.com

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