Rabbi Steven Abraham

In 1948, as Israel declared its independence and the Arab world declared war, a simultaneous catastrophe unfolded—less narrated, less politicized, but no less traumatic. Nearly 900,000 Jews were expelled from Arab and Muslim-majority countries: from Baghdad and Cairo to Tripoli, Damascus, and Aden. They left behind homes, businesses, synagogues, and cemeteries. In many cases, they were permitted to take only a suitcase. In others, they fled amid pogroms and threats of imprisonment. Millennia-old … [Read more...]

Let’s not lose the plot. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has done real, impactful work in American schools and communities for decades. Its No Place for Hate program, in particular, has helped foster safer, more inclusive environments for thousands of students — a rare example of values-based education that transcends partisan lines. Walking away from that work isn’t a principled stand. It’s a disservice to the children the National Education Association (NEA) claims to … [Read more...]

A placard at last month’s protest against deportations caught my eye: “What does the Lord require of you?—Micah 6:8.” Its carrier wielded the verse as proof that Judaism’s essence is progressive politics. The Hebrew prophets have become fair‑trade banners: brand imagery that certifies a justice movement as morally kosher, no further questions asked. Yet this appropriation amputates the very limbs that once gave the verse its force. Micah was not lecturing society at large on abstract human … [Read more...]

We live in a time when many Jews feel more comfortable repairing the world than repairing themselves. They show up to marches, staff nonprofits, amplify causes. They speak eloquently about social justice, equality, and inclusion. But if asked about Shabbat, tefillah, Hebrew literacy, or the moral demands of Jewish peoplehood, many would fall silent. Not because they don’t care—but because they were never taught that tikkun olam—repairing the world—was once part of something deeper: tikkun … [Read more...]

Parashat Chukat begins in paradox. The red heifer—the parah adumah—is slaughtered to purify those made impure by death, yet it defiles the one who performs the ritual. It is the Torah’s most confounding law, what Rashi calls a divine decree “that you have no permission to question.” Even King Solomon, the embodiment of wisdom, admitted defeat in understanding it. But the portion’s paradox is not only legal or theological—it is existential. Within a single chapter, we witness the death of … [Read more...]

Each year on the Fourth of July, Americans commemorate a revolution not only of politics but of principle. The Declaration of Independence proclaims that all men are created equal, endowed with unalienable rights, among them life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. But for American Jews, this day carries a unique resonance. For us, the fireworks and flag-waving are not only celebrations of civic pride—they are reminders of a covenant, not unlike the one at Sinai, that promised a new kind of … [Read more...]

There’s a line we sometimes say—half joking, half pleading—when trying to coax someone to synagogue: “If nothing else, come for the kiddush.” But beneath the humor lies something deeper: the aching truth that we are living through a crisis of meaning. People are spiritually hungry. Tired. Lonely. Anxious. Disconnected. And now more than ever, we need spaces that help us feel grounded, held, and part of something larger than ourselves. We’re told that synagogue attendance is down, that … [Read more...]

At first glance, the images from Glastonbury look almost joyful—sunlit fields filled with music and movement, flags raised high in the summer breeze, tens of thousands dancing to the beat of a festival that claims to celebrate art, peace, and resistance. But beneath the surface, something darker unfolded. “Death, death to the IDF,” chanted the crowd, led by the punk duo Bob Vylan, whose words rang out not from a fringe stage, but from one of the festival’s main platforms. It was broadcast … [Read more...]

Parashat Korach begins not with laws or instructions, but with conflict. Not the quiet disagreements that simmer under the surface of communities—but full-blown rebellion. Korach, along with 250 chieftains, confronts Moses and Aaron with a cry that sounds, at first, like a protest for justice:"Rav lachem! You have gone too far. All the community are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is in their midst. Why then do you raise yourselves above the congregation of the Lord?" (Numbers … [Read more...]

There burns in the marrow of Jewish tradition a fire we have too long silenced. It is not polite, not measured, not diplomatic. It is the fire of the prophets—raw, relentless, righteous. It does not whisper reforms from behind a lectern; it roars from the wilderness, demanding justice where civility has failed. In an age that canonizes calm and mistrusts fury, we must ask: what if the moral voice we need today is not one of soothing consensus—but sacred rage? Modern Jewish life, particularly … [Read more...]