Until the World Is Perfect: Being Human Takes Practice
by Rabbi Nancy Kasten In 1870 Ulysses Grant signed a bill establishing “December 25th…commonly called Christmas Day” as a federal holiday, along with January 1, Thanksgiving Day, and the Fourth […]
Opening Our Eyes to Thanksgiving
by Rabbi Nancy Kasten Several years ago, an Israeli friend participated in a vacation home swap with an acquaintance in Europe. When she returned to her home in Jerusalem, she […]
North Texas native concerned about safety of family, friends in Palestine
This article was originally published by WFAA here. Rania Batrice has continued to try to reach her loved ones in the Middle East who are caught in the middle of […]
Peacebuilders Never Give Up
by Rabbi Nancy Kasten Massacre. Abduction. Bloodbath. Torture. No one word adequately describes the depravity of Hamas’ attack against Israel on October 7. All of them apply. And no one […]
Reflections from an American Christian Mother
by Mara Richards Bim When our plane landed in Tel Aviv on October 7th at 5:00 pm local time, I turned on my phone to let my husband and daughter […]
Faith Commons in the News
“Rabbi Nancy Kasten, who leads an interfaith group in Dallas, said she sympathized with the challenges facing Palestinians and believed Israel’s government had long committed human rights violations. But she […]
There Is No Real Solution Without Peace
George and the twelve people who arrived in Israel/Palestine on Friday have now safely arrived in a hotel in Tiberias. They plan to cross over the border to Jordan tomorrow […]
What Makes This Land Holy?
Just as this newsletter was about to go out we received word that Hamas had launched an attack on Israel, initiating the kind of violence that made it necessary for […]
A Prayer for Yom Kippur
by Alice Shalvi O God, Creator of Heaven and Earth, Creator of humankind and all living things, grant me the power to feel as others feel, the power to listen […]
The (Scandalous) Benefits of Keeping Poor People Poor
by Rabbi Nancy Kasten At the recent 60th anniversary commemoration of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, U.S. Congressman Hakeem Jeffries of NY explained the purpose of […]