Rabbi Steven Abraham

There was a time not long ago when denominational labels mattered. Conservative. Reform. Orthodox. Reconstructionist. We organized our synagogues, summer camps, seminaries, and even our family expectations around them. These affiliations weren’t just statements of belief or practice; they were identities, communities, inherited legacies. But today? More and more Jews—especially younger ones—either shrug at these labels or reject them altogether. And to be honest, I understand why. As a … [Read more...]

“He who is kind to the cruel ends by being cruel to the kind.” This teaching from Midrash Tanchuma is not merely a moral aphorism—it is a warning, a spiritual red line. Judaism is rightly known as a religion of compassion. The world, we are told, is built on chesed (Psalms 89:3). The Jewish people are praised by the Talmud as rachmanim b’nei rachmanim, compassionate children of compassionate ancestors (Yevamot 79a). Mercy is not just a virtue; it is a pillar of the Jewish ethical world. And yet, … [Read more...]

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/22/opinion/iran-israel-attack-global-struggle.html In his recent column, Thomas Friedman casts the U.S. strike on Iranian nuclear facilities as part of a sweeping global drama—a clash between the forces of “inclusion” and those of “resistance.” It’s a compelling narrative, but a dangerously simplistic one. By flattening complex regional dynamics into a binary struggle between the liberal West and reactionary autocracies, Friedman indulges in a kind of moral … [Read more...]

The question of immigration is perhaps one of the most pressing and ethically charged issues of our time, stirring passionate debate across political and religious divides. Within the Jewish community especially, immigration resonates deeply, touching on historical memory, ethical imperatives, and contemporary realities. Jews, having long experienced exile, wandering, and refuge, carry a potent legacy that informs their moral vision. Yet while Jewish ethical tradition compels profound compassion … [Read more...]

Every summer, Jewish teenagers around the world look forward to a journey that promises transformation: traveling to Israel. These trips have long been sacred rites of passage—crucial experiences that nurture Jewish identity, connect teens to our people’s story, and build lifelong ties to the land of our ancestors. This summer, many of those journeys will be disrupted by ongoing travel and safety restrictions. The disappointment is real and deeply felt. And let us be absolutely clear: this is … [Read more...]

This evening we learned that U.S. forces had struck Iranian nuclear facilities at Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan. As a rabbi, I do not write to analyze the strategic dimensions of the mission or the policy calculations behind it. That is not my role. But I do write as a teacher of Torah, as someone charged with seeking the moral pulse of the Jewish tradition at moments of crisis, fear, and moral weight. When the world shakes with violence, our tradition compels us not to rush to answers, but to … [Read more...]

“We were like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and so we were in theirs.”(Numbers 13:33) These words, spoken by the spies upon their return from Canaan, are among the most psychologically revealing in all of Torah. More than just a report of external danger, this verse offers a diagnosis of a collective internal state—an existential fear that distorted perception, paralyzed leadership, and doomed an entire generation. This essay explores the theological and psychological weight of the … [Read more...]

I Show Up Because I'm a Jew: Juneteenth, BLM, and the Ethics of Solidarity This week, as we mark Juneteenth—the day in 1865 when Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas to finally enforce the Emancipation Proclamation—I find myself reflecting on the nature of freedom, memory, and moral responsibility. For African Americans, Juneteenth is both a celebration and an indictment: a celebration of liberation, yes, but also a painful reminder that freedom came not when it was promised, but when … [Read more...]

Parashat Shelach tells one of the most emotionally jarring and spiritually revealing stories in the Torah. Twelve spies are sent to scout the Promised Land. Ten return with tales of giants and fortified cities, their words soaked in fear and despair. Only two—Caleb and Joshua—speak in the voice of faith: “We shall surely go up and inherit it, for we can overcome it” (Numbers 13:30). For this, the people want to kill them. The story of the spies is not just a tale of national failure. It is … [Read more...]

Yesterday was June 13. On the secular calendar, it’s just another date at the edge of summer. But for Jews, the number 613 resounds with ancient gravity. It is the number of mitzvot, the commandments that form the sacred architecture of Jewish life. 613 is not a statistic. It’s a covenant. A charge. A burden. A blessing. And this year, 6/13 came during a week when the Jewish state—beleaguered, exhausted, yet still breathing—fulfilled one of the most painful, necessary mitzvot of all: to … [Read more...]