Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback's invocation at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion 2021 Rabbinical Ordination held at Stephen Wise Temple on Sunday, May 23, 2021: The great Jewish American poet, Muriel Rukeyser, was told by her mother that she was a descendant of Rabbi Akiva. This, Rukeyser later explained, was why she wrote seven poems dedicated to the second century sage. One, published in 1960, was commissioned by what was then known as the Union of American Hebrew Congregations. It was called “The Way Out” and it explores themes of Exodus. It includes a verse that is particularly appropriate to this moment: Akiba rescued, secretly, in the clothes of death by his disciples carried from Jerusalem in blackness journeying to find his journey to whatever he was loving with his life. Rukeyser later acknowledged that she knew that the sage smuggled out of Jerusalem in the “clothes of death” was actually [...]

Next week I’m traveling to Omaha to visit family. I phoned my sister yesterday to make plans for our time together. She asked how I was doing and I told her that it had been a very trying few days given the frightening event that had happened a few nights ago right here in L.A. She didn’t know what I was talking about. She didn’t know because outside of Los Angeles, the event wasn’t widely reported. It sure should have been. It’s the kind of event that every American, every decent and good hearted person should hear about and decry. The realization that while much of the world seems to have a great capacity for empathy for all sorts of suffering, its concern for the suffering of our people seems rather limited. Millions of our people have been terrorized over the past few weeks in Israel (and many hundreds were [...]

Listen in on a friendly, lively conversation between old pals as Rabbi Yoshi sits down with college friend Mark Feuerstein, an actor and writer known for Royal Pains, Power, Prison Break, and many more. Together they reflect on what inspired them down their respective paths during their formative years; the nature of creativity in a Jewish space; and their own Jewish journeys throughout the years. It's a conversation full of great stories, laughs, and more than a few surprising insights. LISTEN AND SUBSCRIBE

And yet the dawn is ours before we knew it. Somehow, we do it. Somehow, we’ve weathered and witnessed A nation that isn’t broken, but simply unfinished. — Amanda Gorman, Inaugural Poet, from “The Hill We Climb,” recited on January 20, 2021 at the Inauguration of President Joseph R. Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris This week marks a new beginning for our unfinished nation. We Jews know about new beginnings and fresh starts. Our liturgy reminds us that each day is a new beginning for through God’s goodness, the world is renewed and the work of creation continues. We are God’s partners in this sacred, ongoing task. The world is not yet complete—we are, together with the Holy One, completing it. There is much that needs finishing, but nothing is so broken that it is beyond repair. So let us roll up our sleeves and work diligently to make [...]