While covering the Mother’s Day second line parade in New Orleans — a festive tradition in the city — on May 12, 2013, two young brothers sprayed bullets into the crowd. The shooting wounded 19 people, including reporter Deborah Cotton, a longtime correspondent for the local alt weekly Gambit and a cultural writer for Nola.com….
Last week, I spoke on the topic of forgiveness at the Manhattan JCC. During the Q&A that followed, a woman in the back raised her hand. “Do we have to forgive?” she asked. As I began my response, a mutual friend nudged her. “Tell her the whole story,” she mouthed. She began again. “I was…
Today is National Coming Out Day, and tonight is the beginning of Yom Kippur. Yom Kippur is Judaism’s highest holiday, and on it, we happen to read those infamous words, “A man shall not lie with a man as he does with a woman; it is an abomination” (Leviticus 18:22). As a gay Jew, even…
Growing up in my house was like growing up in enemy territory and you were the only one who was captured. My body and mind were always braced for the next attack, frequently without a warning. It didn’t matter what I did or how I looked, there seemed to be nothing right about me. I…
Gen. David Petraeus is not the first famous David in history to be ensnared in the web of infidelity. King David was an adulterer and a fellow military hero as well. However, the similarities end there. While the biblical David was able to retain his kingship because he repented and was forgiven, the contemporary David…
The High Holidays don’t work for me. I know that Yom Kippur is supposed to be the holiest day of the year, and I’ve read and listened to many great ideas about how Yom Kippur is supposed to work on supreme spiritual issues and in sanctifying relationships and community. And I’ve been trying it out…
The Jewish New Year is a time for judgment and reflection, not celebration. We gather to take stock and consider all of the ways we have fallen short, sinned and transgressed. We beat our chests, and each pounding represents a sin that either we — or some other member of the community — committed over…
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