“To know God is to know what must be done.” Emmanuel Levinas (1906-1995) For Emmanuel Levinas, one of the most important Jewish philosophers of the 20th century, we demonstrate our knowledge and understanding of God when we treat others ethically. Now — and always — this is our task, this is our sacred mission. To know God is to treat others with compassion, empathy, and justice. — Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback

 :בְּיָדו אַפְקִיד רוּחִי. בְּעֵת אִישָׁן וְאָעִירָה :וְעִם רוּחִי גְּוִיָּתִי. ה' לִי וְלא אִירָא “Into God’s hand, I safeguard my spirit/when I sleep and when I awake. With my spirit is my body; God is with me — I shall not fear!” Adon Olam Prayer (11th Century) The last verses of this beloved poem are the most personal, imagining Adonai, as it were, holding us. What a beautiful image - b’Yado בְּיָדו -  in God’s hand… we are safe, protected, secure. There is nothing to fear when we are cradled in God’s hands. Like a baby in the arms of its mother or father, there is nothing to fear. Everything will be all right. Everything will be OK. We shall not fear... — Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback

“To be a Jew is to be an agent of hope in a world serially threatened by despair. Every ritual, every mitzvah, every syllable of the Jewish story, every element of Jewish law, is a protest against escapism, resignation or the blind acceptance of fate. Judaism is a sustained struggle, the greatest ever known, against the world that is, in the name of the world that could be, should be, but is not yet. There is no more challenging vocation. Throughout history, when human beings have sought hope they have found it in the Jewish story. Judaism is the religion, and Israel the home, of hope.”                                                                                        Rabbi [...]