Joseph A. Edelheit

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Jun 5, 2021, 12:26 AM

Fear: The Eternal Toxin

This year Sh’lach L’cha, the story of the 12 spies resonates with us more profoundly. We read of the twelve representatives sent by Moses as commanded by God to scout the land they are about to enter. Moses gives...

Mar 7, 2021, 6:40 AM

How Long Is ‘Eventually’?

Franz Kafka wrote in his Diaries, that there are two basic human behaviors from which all other transgressions derive: impatience and laziness. But since laziness comes directly from impatience, Kafka concludes there is only one cardinal human sin: impatience. The...

Jan 7, 2021, 2:35 AM

The ‘Big-Lie’ in Egypt and Washington DC

Within the first twelve verses of Sh’mot we quickly move from the nomadic patriarchal and matriarchal clan of Jacob’s sons to the Community of Israelites living in Egypt. Without any details or explanation, the narrative describes a new ruler...

Oct 16, 2020, 9:46 PM

The Absence of Parenting

We begin again our wonderful and endless adventure in reading, studying, discussing, and interpreting Torah. This week’s portion introduces the reader to the mysteries of creation culminating with the first humans who choose to taste moral knowledge and are...

Oct 6, 2020, 8:24 PM

Is There An Adult In the Room Where it Happened?

In the extraordinary American musical, “Hamilton” we are taught history and political theory in the song, “In the Room Where it Happens.” The lyrics interwoven with the hip-hop rhythm culminate with Aaron Burr’s personal plea: “I (I wanna be...

Sep 10, 2020, 4:43 AM

The Last Lesson of Torah Wisdom for 5780

NITZAVIM-VA’YALECH, this m’chubar (double) portion is also the final weekly Torah portion of 5780. Nitzavim, offers us Moses’ dramatic final oration to the people. The opening verses provide the most inclusive listing of community leaders in the entire Torah. In...

Jul 26, 2020, 2:05 AM

Derech Eretz for Our Time

T’isha B’Av is an anniversary of such overwhelming suffering that we require weeks of preparation. On this one day in the Jewish calendar we remember the destruction of both Temples in Jerusalem, the end of Bar Kochba’s revolt, the...

Jun 19, 2020, 10:09 PM

The Contemporary Reality of the “Ten Spies” Are Just as Dangerous

Reading ‘Sh’lach L’cha’, (Numbers 13:1-15:41) offers an interesting analogue to the upheaval of hateful history. We are watching as monuments of the ‘Lost Cause’ are being toppled or removed in acts of shameful recognition. The London Jewish community has...

Jun 2, 2020, 5:09 PM

The Distraction of Chaos

There was an announcement that CUFI’s annual gathering of Evangelical Christian Zionists will be virtual this year in June. This year’s meeting will come with even more political impulses, a US election year, a new Netanyahu government in Israel,...

May 17, 2020, 4:53 PM

At a Loss for Words!

The coronavirus pandemic was defined genetically as COVID-19 on January 14, 2020. In only four months, millions have been infected, hundreds of thousands died, and the global economy collapsed. The rapidity of the pandemic is best described with words:...

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About Me

Joseph has linked his congregational rabbinate and academic careers with interfaith relations, contemporary philosophy, and serving Jews who are sometimes ignored. He is retired in Rio de Janeiro where he teaches, writes and volunteers his rabbinic time in communities without rabbis. He has written "What Am I Missing? Questions About Being Human"