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Scott Perlo
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I left the waves of my beloved Pacific Ocean for Sixth & I in Washington DC. Since California is my home, you’ll find me returning to surf or dive any chance I get. My travels and experiences as a rabbi have been eclectic, off the wall, and have blessed me with satisfaction. I had the honor to be the first rabbi of the Professional Leaders Project and Moishe House, a founder of the Ma'or Beit Midrash and CreateHavdallah, rabbi of Adat Shalom in West L.A., and rabbinic intern at IKAR and Beit Warszawa in Warsaw, Poland. I received my undergraduate degree from University of Pennsylvania and my ordination from the Ziegler School at the American Jewish University in 2008. I write fairly often for the Huffington Post and occasionally say something profound here.

Blog Entries by Scott Perlo

Dr. King's Sword: Responding to Boston

(2) Comments | Posted April 19, 2013 | 3:08 PM

The Onion said it best. It always does.

"'Seriously, can we wrap this up already?' Maryland resident James Alderman told reporters, echoing the thoughts of all 311 million Americans, who have just about reached their weekly goddamned quota for carnage, misery, confusion, heartbreak, and rage. "Because,...

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The Spiritual Heroism of Chris Christie and the Power of Healthy Fear

(0) Comments | Posted November 5, 2012 | 4:01 PM

One of Hurricane Sandy's consequences is surprisingly heartening: in the most affected communities, people fear more for the welfare of their families and neighbors than for the rarefied concerns that occupy most of our time. It is possible to pull out of this natural disaster deep and true observations about...

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The Surprising Role of Houses of Worship in the Presidential Election

(16) Comments | Posted August 22, 2012 | 11:23 AM

This country may be founded upon freedom of religion, but religion has been nothing but a burden in this election. For the most part, religious institutions have been at the forefront of the fire that dominates our political climate. Though illegal, the support of various religious institutions for their candidate...

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The Numbers Prove It, Now Let's Use It: Young Rabbis Love Israel

(14) Comments | Posted October 3, 2011 | 12:08 AM

The recent study by HUC/JIR's Dr. Steven Cohen of rabbinical students at Jewish Theological Seminary proves it: young rabbis and current rabbinical students remain deeply committed to Israel.

For those of us who fall into either category, the JTS survey provides the kind of recognition and response...

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Prayer: An Expression of the Heart

(128) Comments | Posted June 22, 2011 | 8:11 AM

If asked, even synagogue-going Jews will acknowledge a reality: most do not pray. This reality is disturbing, not just because it questions the purpose of the many hours each has spent in services (each Shabbat service is two to three hours long), but because the absence of sincere prayer occasions...

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Spirituality and Religion Are Not Mutually Exclusive

(330) Comments | Posted February 18, 2011 | 8:30 PM

A few weeks ago, I wrote a column exploring the lack of participation of men in American religion. Much to my surprise, I received two kinds of comments again and again about the article.

The first category of commentator was pleased by the news that men were...

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Religion, Metaphor and Getting the 'Nazi' Out of Our Rhetoric

(164) Comments | Posted February 9, 2011 | 8:00 PM

There was, in my first full year living in Israel, a point when I began to get frightened. The year was 2005, and the disengagement from Gaza was rapidly approaching. In the media, on the buses, in public places I started to hear a repeated phrase in the mouths of...

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The Vanishing American Religious Male

(694) Comments | Posted January 30, 2011 | 4:56 PM

To the endangered species of our world, let us add another: the vanishing American religious male. While he's not near extinction, he's definitely PBS-special worthy. His disappearance isn't just within Judaism -- his lack of participation extends to every religion in the American landscape. And rabbis, priests, pastors, imams, demographers...

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