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Aug 18, 2026, 6:07 AM

Witnessing Our Return

I don’t want to be alone. I don’t mean that I always want someone beside me. I spend a lot of time alone, and often seek it out. I walk in the forest alone. I think alone. Some of the...

Aug 16, 2026, 7:58 PM

Can We Reclaim the Jewish Story?

As we enter Elul and mark the yahrzeit of Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak HaCohen Kook, I find myself thinking about resilience. A recent Jerusalem Post reflection by Jeffrey Kahn on Israeli resilience immediately inspired me. Among the questions he raises, two...

Hande Gençünal

Aug 16, 2026, 6:59 AM

A Name That Came Back From Exile, on Elul

Most of the time, saying a month's name, we don't think about what it carries inside it, we just say it and move on. This year, saying Elul, I stopped. And stopping, I saw that the word itself, like...

William Hamilton

Aug 14, 2026, 5:51 PM

Nobody Left Behind

“It’s like talking to Americans about personal freedom,” Haviv Rettig Gur says when he’s describing Israel's spirit of solidarity. More than 90% of Israeli High Schoolers affirmatively answered this question: If the Jews of this or that region of the...

Talyah Ginsberg

Aug 14, 2026, 2:30 PM

Justice, justice shall you pursue — preferably after coffee

Gavel and coffee. (iStock)

Elul's court means we must first give up our double-standards and only then demand leaders who do more than look thoughtful in photos (Shofetim)

Shanee B. Michaelson

Aug 13, 2026, 10:54 PM

Elul 5786: Towards a New Chapter

Portland roses photo by Rabbi Shanee B. Michaelson

We are entering the month of Elul. The long, difficult arc from Tisha B’Av toward the High Holy Days has begun to turn. The Seven Shabbatot of Consolation are carrying us through these weeks, offering words of comfort one...

Aug 13, 2026, 8:32 PM

Elul – ‘Give Him the Best Death You Can’

As I enter Elul, the holy month before the Jewish New Year and the beginning of a period that leads us towards the Days of Judgment, I feel as though I have been shaken awake. I live with Progressive Supranuclear...

Aug 13, 2026, 8:23 PM

Are you fulfilling all you need to in this world?

Do you make the same Cheshbon Hanefesh (accounting of the soul) as everyone else? No. You are unique! Your Cheshbon HaNefesh will vary according to your level of intelligence, perception and clarity of understanding. Look at yourself. Are you fulfilling your obligations to serve...

Aug 13, 2026, 5:12 AM

How To Apologize Like A Celebrity This Elul

This Elul we can ALL be celebrities.

We are halfway through August, and Elul has just begun. Let's face it, you have a lot of apologizing to get in before Yom Kippur. When you multiply each apology by three, it means you probably should have started...

Aug 13, 2026, 5:06 AM

Reflections on Parashat Shoftim and Elul, the Season of Marriage

Justice and the Limits of Power Shoftim, this week’s parasha, famously begins with the appointment of judges and officials: “You shall appoint magistrates and officials for your tribes… and they shall govern the people with due justice. You shall not judge...

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