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Jonathan Biatch

Bringing Humanity to Inhumane Places

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Apr 14, 2026, 8:01 AM

“What Have We Accomplished?”

A human story not about the war . . . exactly. "What Have We Accomplished?” I heard these words this morning wafting around the gym lockers at the Jewish community center where I have been working out. The speaker was an...

Apr 1, 2026, 8:56 PM

‘I’m Spartacus!’

Another Way Jews are Not Safe on American College Campuses A scene near the conclusion of the 1960 film “Spartacus” portrays the Roman commander Crassus offering to save the lives of captured slaves if any of them turn over the...

Feb 23, 2026, 5:28 AM

Who Will Succeed at the Mordechai Challenge?

“Perhaps It Was Precisely for This Kind of Moment That You Have Risen to Your Position of Authority!” (Esther 4:14) Purim is approaching, and at this time of year, we say to one another, “Be happy, it’s Adar” and wish...

Dec 29, 2025, 6:51 PM

Struggle Toward Repair; Ascend Toward Miracles

Sunset over Channel Islands National Park, California, December 26, 2025

“The world was unformed and chaotic, there was darkness across the surface of the deep. . . And on that day, all the fountains of the great deep burst apart, and the floodgates of the sky broke open. ....

Dec 22, 2025, 4:55 PM

One Remembrance of Rob Reiner

My heart broke last week when I learned of the deaths of Rob Reiner and his wife. Mr. Reiner excelled as a fine actor, a genius storyteller, an engaged progressive political activist, and a mensch, and I am terribly...

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About Me

Rabbi Jonathan Biatch is Rabbi Emeritus of Temple Beth El, Madison, Wisconsin. He was raised in Studio City, CA, has an undergraduate degree in Radio-Television Broadcast Management, secondary degrees in Jewish Communal Service and Hebrew Letters, and was ordained from Hebrew Union College in 1992. He currently lives in Hartford, Connecticut, as a community rabbi and progressive thinker.

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