Delivered this Shabbat in anticipation of former Congressman Patrick Kennedy’s upcoming talk at RS about mental health/addiction parity and de-stigmatization. At some point during my adolescent years, my father came home with a package and presented it to my sister and me. It was a box of 1000 red pencils,...
In former congressperson Patrick Kennedy’s Memoir, A Common Struggle: A Personal Journey through the Past and Future of Mental Illness and Addiction, he describes a scene that took place just after he revealed his struggles to the New York Times. There he was at a family occasion, surrounded...
A member of our Rodeph Shalom family, Becca Strober writes this personal blog post in response to the horrifying recent violence in Israel. She made aliyah some years ago and continues to teach us through her writing and activism in Israel. Our heart is in the East.
Did you see or hear Stevie Wonder present an award at the Grammy broadcast last week? He opens the envelope. Then with everyone on the edge of their seats to hear the winner of that category, he turns his opened envelope towards the audience, to show us all the braille,...
Our portion of the week, parashat New Hampshire, has gotten me thinking about democracy and free speech. When the campaign results were in on Tues. evening, I watched all of the primary speeches, victory and defeat. Maybe I’m just shmaltzy, but I’m a patriot, and I was moved by most...
Are you one of those people who loves lists? To-do lists that live on temporary post-it notes, or bucket lists that endure in your mind? Many parts of the Torah involve lists: lists of names in the generations of the Israelite family, lists of materials and...
“I am a Muslim and I am so honored to be here in this sanctuary. This would never happen in my country– visiting the home of an other religion. I will bring these lessons back to my country.” These were the words of one of our guests at our Friday night...
Reports the New York Times, Israeli and Palestinian children stake out positions along main roads and rooftops, wait for the unsuspecting and cut loose with snowballs.
The Jewish Community Relations Council and Government Affairs groups of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia made great strides in advocacy this year. Here are 10 of their top successes: (Pick up the Super Sunday phone call on Feb 21 to show your support!) At the state, with the PA Jewish Coalition: 1) Secured a $1...
Delivered by Rabbi Jill Maderer, Inauguration of Mayor and City Council, The Academy of Music, 1/4/16. Today, we who call God many different names, and we who choose not to call to God at all, we Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist, Philadelphians of diverse neighborhoods, races, sexual orientations...
