Of all the reactions to my congregational letter in response to the President’s executive order on immigration, there is one that I have yet to hear.
January 14, 2017
Bring Them Close
Occasion(s) / Va-y’hi
Two weeks ago I had the opportunity to speak at the Knesset in a caucus session on the subject of diaspora Jewry’s relationship with Israel.
January 08, 2017
Time to Double Down, Not Stand Down
Occasion(s) / Va-yiggash
As a liberal Zionist, I have found myself of late returning to the so-called Chinese curse: “May you live in interesting times.” To be an ardent Zionist, to be attentive to the condition of the stranger in our midst, to believe in the two-state solution – these values are givens in my self-defini
December 27, 2016
Diaspora Jewry and Israel: Mending the Breach
Occasion(s) / Other
On Tuesday, December 27, 2016 Rabbi Cosgrove spoke at a conference on Israel-Diaspora relations, held at the Knesset in Jerusalem. Read his remarks below; the first paragraph of the English is a translation of the Hebrew.
December 10, 2016
To Speak or Not to Speak
Occasion(s) / Va-yetzei
For those of us living on the alphabet street of American Jewish life, the intrigue of these weeks between the election and the inauguration has been due as much to what has been said as to what has not been said. Let us begin with the obvious.
December 03, 2016
Lost Sparks
Occasion(s) / Tol’dot
Last Sunday night I checked off of my bucket list the Chabad Kinus Sheluchim, the annual meeting of Chabad emissaries from around the world, over 4500 rabbis from 90 countries convening for what is considered the largest annual gathering of Jews in North America.
November 19, 2016
Power and Powerlessness in Central Europe
Occasion(s) / Va-yera
Impressive as Budapest’s Dohany Street Synagogue may be, the most significant thing about it is not what you see, but what you don’t.
November 12, 2016
America, I Hardly Knew You
Occasion(s) / Lekh L’kha
When I awoke Wednesday morning to the news of the election of Donald Trump, the emotion I felt most profoundly – and expected least – was humility. The polls were so clear, the predictions so firm, the prognosticators so self-assured.
October 28, 2016
The (Honest) Truth About the Garden
Occasion(s) / B’reishit
To this day, I can recall the precise circumstances of the last time I took a puff on a cigarette. It was over seventeen years ago when Debbie and I were in Paris on our honeymoon. We had spent the day walking the streets of the City of Lights, going from museum to museum.
October 14, 2016
Progress, Not Perfection
Occasion(s) / Ha·azinu
Yankee fans may well remember game one of the 1998 World Series against the San Diego Padres. It was the bottom of the seventh and the score was tied 5-5. There were two outs, bases loaded, and Tino Martinez was at the plate for the Yankees. Two balls and two strikes.