Yonatan Cohen, at The Blogs

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Dec 2, 2023, 1:40 PM

As the first set of images of hostages released from Hamas’ captivity came across my screen, I felt like a dreamer, and this verse came to mind: “A song of ascents. When the Lord returns the returnees to Zion,...

Nov 27, 2023, 11:27 AM

There’s no shortcut to redemption

Family and friends attend the funeral of Rose Elisheva Lubin at the Mount Herzl Military Cemetery in Jerusalem on November 9, 2023 (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

The trials of the Jewish nation are not fair: Some get more than their fair share, and some must fight for a crumb, but that is how we build

Nov 4, 2018, 8:05 AM

Survival, Resilience, and Faith

Last Sunday morning, while driving a few 3rd and 4th graders from my community, I was privy to listen in to their conversation. One of the children mentioned the tragic mass shooting in a synagogue in Pittsburgh. Though I...

Sep 21, 2018, 3:01 AM

The Invisible String

A few months ago at the Berkeley Men’s Shelter, I had a powerful encounter with a homeless man. After being served dinner by one of our shul volunteers, the man requested to see the priest. As a rabbi who...

Sep 12, 2018, 5:27 PM

I Have Never Seen the King – On Simple Faith

My maternal grandfather, Nono Meir, was a travelling salesman in Egypt. Throughout the year, he would travel from town to town by train, selling merchandise and soliciting offers for commercial goods. Once he stayed in a hotel overnight, where...

Sep 10, 2018, 12:50 AM

Responsibility beyond Culpability

Dr. Abraham Joshua Heschel was perhaps one of the greatest Jewish American theologians of the 20th century. Beyond his scholarly work, Heschel is probably the most important and well-known Jewish social activist of the previous generation. Through his very...

Jan 30, 2017, 2:52 PM

The Debt (HaGomel Le’Chayavim)

It was late last night. It could have been as late as midnight but I would not dare write midnight as only a clock or God in His infinite wisdom could have revealed the exact hour. As I did...

Jun 2, 2015, 11:22 PM

Prayer for the Rabbis

Blessed and Holy One — Shield and protect us from the power of our rabbinate Straighten the structures of our professional organizations and communal boards Strengthen the hands of our lay leaders and amplify the voices of our community members Shelter our fears,...

Sep 23, 2014, 8:21 PM

A Letter to Isaac

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,...

Aug 4, 2014, 7:25 AM

Mourning without a Prayer

At some point during this war, and especially as the extent to which Hamas is wont of Israel's destruction became clearer than ever, I lost faith in the possibility of peace. Simultaneously however, I seem to have also lost...

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About Me

Yonatan Cohen serves as the rabbi of Congregation Beth Israel, a thriving Orthodox community in Berkeley, CA. He is a senior fellow of the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem and North America as well as a lecturer for the Wexner Foundation.