Rabbi Shoshana Cohen explains how the broken matzah teaches us to work toward redemption

By Rabbi Jennifer Lewis
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Although we have much to be happy about as Spring approaches and the natural world is coming back to life, the news about a new war between the U.S. (and Israel) and Iran is alarming.

Last year, we included in our UHC community seder an optional reading from Rabbi Shoshana Cohen of the Shalom Hartman Center in Jerusalem. She wrote the following passage about how the broken matzah that we eat during the Passover seder teaches us to work toward redemption in real time.

I share it with you in the hope that even in the midst of war, we continue to seek meaning in doing mitzvahs and spreading the Eternal Flame, even at times of duress.

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In time of war, pikuach nefesh compels us to ask: Can we justify our actions morally?

By Scott Skillman
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I have been doing some serious thinking about the attack on Iran by both Israel and the United States. In my research, I have found the following to be helpful in exploring an obvious dilemma: Can we justify our actions morally?

The prospect of an attack on Iran presents a complex ethical dilemma within Judaism, challenging the tension between the imperative to defend life and the prohibition against unjustified bloodshed.

While Jewish law prioritizes the preservation of life and permits pre-emptive, self-defensive actions against imminent threats, it also strongly emphasizes pursuing peace, proportionality, and avoiding unnecessary destruction.

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Tu B’shvat is a time for sharing our gifts

By Rabbi Jennifer Lewis
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This month, we celebrate the minor festival of Tu B’shvat — the 15th day of the Hebrew calendar month of Shevat. We call Tu B’shvat the “birthday” of trees, because it is a marker of time from which we count whether a tree is old enough to bear tithe-worthy fruit.

That is, is this tree mature enough, strong enough, to bear fruit from which we must dedicate a portion to others?

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The best miracles could be the ones we make ourselves, every day of the year

By Scott Skillman
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December is a month steeped in the stories and expectations of miracles.

Across different faiths and cultures, this season is the time when we remember powerful acts of divine intervention, from the miracle of the oil that burned for eight days during Hanukkah to the Christian belief in the miraculous birth of Jesus.

These ancient stories serve as anchors, reminding us of the extraordinary ways the divine intersects with the ordinary world.

But miracles are not just events locked in history books. They happen every day, often hiding in plain sight, waiting for us to open our eyes and our hearts to recognize them.

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