Yom Kippur 2010

Are we willing to be as brave as God? Seeking and granting forgiveness will make us feel vulnerable, if we are serious about what we are doing, and making ourselves vulnerable takes real courage.

May our children see each other for what they are, sisters and brothers. And after all that they've gone through, for their sake if not for ours, inscribe them for a year of peace.

And Yom Kippur is rolling around again. Let us let God's leopard loose on Yom Kippur. May we in Isaiah's name let "subversive" prayer leap from the letters in the prayerbook.

A primary cause of incivility in public discourse emanates from arrogating to ourselves the role of Judge. On this the Jewish tradition is clear: we are not the Judge. At our best, as my friend pointed out, we may be a teacher.

For too long, the left has focused on building systems of government that are just and fair while ignoring individual sin; the right has focused on individual sin and personal redemption while saying little about just societies.

The mikveh feels a little like the womb. But you can't stay under long, no matter how lovely the sound and sensation of your splashing heart. You have to get out of the water, where the rest of this life is waiting to begin.