William Hamilton
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Aug 10, 2018, 3:55 PM
More than meets the eye
“Look at me and tell me what you see,” the standup comic asks of his childhood friend after inviting him to attend his show.   The performance turns more serious than silly.   On this night, the comedic art...
Aug 3, 2018, 6:41 PM
Not all you. Not all context. Sometimes much bigger than both
“There must have been a lot of people praying the right way and at the right moment” a News anchor concluded in response to the lack of fatalities from this week’s plane crash in Mexico. Seriously? Such simplistic theology implicates every...
Jul 27, 2018, 11:21 PM
What Jews do
“Are we destined to keep fighting each other?” asked a loyal friend of Israel earlier this week.  He was troubled by the recent arrest in Israel of a rabbi for not conforming to authorities who seemed to be flouting...
Jul 20, 2018, 7:09 PM
It’s personal
“Sometimes I feel like a total failure as a parent” said single-parent Atticus Finch toward the end of To Kill A Mockingbird “but I’m all they’ve got.”  Today’s strife-ridden world welcomes Douglas Aronin’s lesson from this classic American novel. ...
Jul 13, 2018, 6:08 PM
Accident’s accent
“No matter how much you want to dismiss it as an accident, I still feel responsible for it, and I am.” She cried, “I hit him!  Why does nobody understand this?”  Maryann Gray struggled to express the torment that...
Jul 6, 2018, 5:58 PM
Passion’s poison and purity
Times of Israel writer Sarah Tuttle-Singer offered a July 4th posting earlier this week.  “On this day, 42 years ago, Jews were in mortal danger in a hostage nightmare in Entebbe, Uganda, and for the first time in our...
Jun 29, 2018, 5:58 PM
Justice Kennedy through a more spacious lens
‘Raising the young and pursuing the good’ are two of society’s highest aims.  Achieving them, David Brooks reminds us this week, is not a do-it-yourself job.  Their realization requires civic responsibility, generous mutuality, and strong community.  By contrast, Justice...
Jun 22, 2018, 5:35 PM
When repentance seems remote
Moses strikes the rock in this week’s portion of Torah. The punitive consequences seem unfair. Not merely because the sin seems subtle, but because it is so irreversible. After all, Moses could be very persuasive. He had persuaded God to reconsider punishments before. But...
Jun 15, 2018, 11:39 PM
Greatness from Goodness
Sampson had last two consecutive Senatorial campaigns.  He had a couple of liabilities that challenged his aptitude for political victory.  First, he seemed to care more about better outcomes for his constituency - making sure the wrong person didn’t...
Jun 8, 2018, 6:16 PM
Remembering the plot
“Distractions can be our biggest problem and our lifesaver” a friend said to me this week.   “When considering the news of the day, distractions lead us astray.  Their allure causes us to veer from the essential toward the...
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About Me
Rabbi William Hamilton has served as rabbi (mara d'atra) of Kehillath Israel in Brookline, MA since 1995.