2019

Our city of Athens is home to the tree that owns itself, but in a forest in New Zealand, there is a greater curiosity. There is a tree stump that has no leaves, no stems, and no greenery that is somehow still alive. It’s alive because the kauri trees that surround it rerouted its system of roots so that they could be hydraulically coupled with the stump, keeping it alive.

During my first year at the Cincinnati campus of Hebrew Union College, we studied with Dr. David Aaron, a Bible scholar. During one class session, he talked about these two books of Ecclesiastes and Job, and shared a powerful memory.

In the first century, Rabbi Hillel was asked to explain Judaism in one sentence. His response was not one of belief or theology, but action. And it was specifically about action toward our fellow neighbors, a political answer

Congregation Rodeph Shalom is located on the Upper West Side in New York City. Every year during Passover, the synagogue partners with Harlem’s Memorial Baptist Church for what they call a Third Seder. During this seder these two communities gather together and share stories of slavery and redemption.