A Blog by Rabbi Brant Rosen
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This will be my last post on Shalom Rav, the blog. But don’t worry: I’m moving things to a newsletter format, also called Shalom Rav, and I’ll be posting there regularly. Please subscribe here to receive my posts via email. (If you don’t get the confirmation link in your inbox, make sure to check your […]
The recitation of the Ten Plagues is one of the signature moments of the Passover seder – and for many, one the most morally problematic. At the apex of the Magid section – the telling of the Exodus story – seder participants read aloud the series of plagues that God inflicts on the Egyptians to […]
A Letter to Tzedek Chicago and V’Ahavtah members: Dear Haverim After much consultation over the weekend, we’ve decided to cancel the Tzedek Chicago – V’ahavtah Purim program scheduled for this evening, March 2. We did not come to this decision lightly. In the end, we could simply not imagine celebrating a festival of making merry […]
In the cycle of weekly Torah readings, we’ve recently begun the book of Exodus, the central sacred narrative of the Israelites’ journey from oppression to liberation. In the story, Egypt, the place of the Israelites’ servitude, is less historical than mythical, referred to in Hebrew by the word Mitzrayim, meaning “narrowness.” Mitzrayim is the Exodus […]
Last Shabbat the Jewish community received the devastating news that Beth Israel, the oldest synagogue in Jackson, Mississippi, was attacked by an arsonist. The fire caused extensive damage to the library and sanctuary, destroying two Torah scrolls and damaging five more. Thankfully, though the synagogue building was extensively burned, no one, other than the arsonist […]
On November 2 I had the pleasure to engage in a public conversation with journalist/author Peter Beinart in a program co-sponsored by Jewish Currents and my congregation Tzedek Chicago, We explored a wide range of issues arising from the current moral-political moment in Israel Palestine. I was particularly grateful to interrogate the issues raised by […]
As if there wasn’t enough drama over the candidacy of Zohran Mamdani in New York City’s mayoral race, last week saw the release of “A Rabbinic Call to Action: Defending the Jewish Future,” a statement from an ad hoc group calling itself “The Jewish Majority,” condemning Mamdani for voicing political convictions that “delegitimize the Jewish […]
It is the morning after. While the ink has dried on Trump’s 20 point “peace plan,” it has become brutally clear that the nightmare for Gazans is far from over. Yes, the return of Palestinian and Israeli captives has been an occasion for genuine joy and celebration. Yes, Israel has ended its relentless genocidal bombing […]
This Yom Kippur, amazingly, is Tzedek Chicago’s tenth Yom Kippur. And since Yom Kippur is a day for taking stock of the year that’s past, I want to to share some thoughts about our congregation’s first ten: to explore our history, our growth and perhaps most importantly, to offer some thoughts about what has changed […]
On Yom Kippur, we say the hard truths out loud. On Yom Kippur, we proclaim together as a community: chatanu, we have sinned. We have failed. We have not lived up to our promises of the past year. I don’t know that I’ve ever experienced these words more brutally than I do this year. In […]
