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Posted on: 2021/04/23 - 10:05am

Tetzaveh / Purim 2021 - Yael Ridberg

Purim 2020 was the last in-person event celebrated by many Jewish communities around the country before the COVID-19 shutdown. Little did we understand that the essential psychological principle of Purim of hafichut – the reversibility of our world – would come to mean something even more profound than what we had come to expect.

https://archive.reconstructingjudaism.org/dvar-torah/righting-world-turned-upside-down

Posted on: 2021/02/26 - 12:28pm

Zakhor text study - Amalek - Out There or In Here?

The Shabbat before the holiday of Purim is known as Shabbat Zakhor (“Remember!”). We read an additional Torah passage (Deuteronomy 25:17-19) recalling Amalek, a genocidal enemy from our distant past who is both the spiritual and physical ancestor of Haman, the villain of the Purim story.

https://archive.reconstructingjudaism.org/dvar-torah/amalek-out-there-or-here-text-study-shabbat-zakhor

Posted on: 2021/02/19 - 10:20am

Parshat Bo 2021: The Rituals of Democracy - Yael Ridberg

(Written for Shabbat Bo, January 22, 2021, and originally published at The Times of Israel as “The Rituals of American Democracy” Used with kind permission.)

Wednesday morning, I settled in to watch the inaugural events unfold. I was filled with anticipation and relief that the last four years were over, and a new era was about to begin. I was transfixed watching the guests arrive at the Capitol only two weeks after the temple of democracy was overrun by a seditious mob.

https://archive.reconstructingjudaism.org/dvar-torah/rituals-democracy

Posted on: 2021/01/22 - 9:36am

A Plague of Darkness - Passover DT Strassfeld

There is a plague of darkness that has fallen not only on our land but upon the world. Actually, there are many plagues — just as in Egypt they seem to come in groups even though just one plague would be more than enough — dayyenu. The coronavirus is certainly a plague that has affected every family, passing over some homes but striking too many others.

There is also a plague of scarcity:
A shortage of ventilators, protective gear and hospital beds.

https://archive.reconstructingjudaism.org/dvar-torah/plague-darkness

Posted on: 2020/03/31 - 1:53pm

Jacob DT Pre-Passover Covid 2020

This d’var Torah was written during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, as Passover 2020 approached. While the specific circumstances have changed since its writing, the spiritual insights remain deeply relevant.

https://archive.reconstructingjudaism.org/dvar-torah/what-true-moment

Posted on: 2020/03/26 - 12:41pm

Purim D'var Torah Elyse Wechterman Jstreet 2020

This d’var Torah for Purim was originally posted on the J Street website on March 5, 2020 as The Two-Way Street | Purim: The Danger Of A Single Story. It was based on the text study Purim, Prejudice and the Dangers of a Single Story (PDF) presented by American Jewish World Service.

https://archive.reconstructingjudaism.org/dvar-torah/purim-danger-single-story

Posted on: 2020/03/06 - 9:48am