Author: rabbituchman
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On The Lessons We Can Learn from Queens Esther and Vashti: Purim 5782
Purim is a holiday filled with paradox. It is simultaneously the happiest festival on the Jewish calendar and a day on which we reckon with all of the ways in which we experience brokenness in our world and in our communities. We are feeling that keenly this year in particular…
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Rabbi Lauren Tuchman Interviewed in Lilith Magazine
From Moses To COVID: Rabbi Lauren Tuchman On Disability Inclusion
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Rabbi Lauren Tuchman Featured In The Shalvi/Hyman Encyclopedia of Jewish Women
Rabbi Lauren Tuchman Is Featured in the Shalvi/Hyman Encyclopedia of Jewish Women
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Torah From A Mussar Perspective Mishpatim
This piece originally was published as part of Torah From a Mussar Perspective in 5781/2021. During this pandemic time, I have found myself frequently moving between periods of normal energy and periods of considerable fatigue. I note that the latter is not unexpected, given all that has occurred in…
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Torah From A Mussar Perspective Shmot 5782
This commentary originally appeared as part of Torah From A Mussar Perspective from the Mussar Institute. The Mussar tradition understands that we aren’t meant to simply read the parasha of the week but are instead invited to live deeply with and into it. This accords with the idea that…
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Torah From A Mussar Perspective Vayeshev 5782
The below commentary first appeared as part of Torah From A Mussar Perspective through the Mussar Institute. Parshat Vayeshev contains within it the multi-faceted story of Judah and Tamar. Judah, Jacob and Leah’s fourth son, has journeyed away from his brothers and has married a woman named Shua with…
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Thoughts For Yom Kippur 5782
Yom Kippur is often translated into English as the Jewish day of atonement, though I feel that this is a mistranslation. Yom Kippur’s awesomeness, in the literal sense of the word, is that the Jewish tradition provides us with a 25-hour period, Shabbat Shabbaton (the sabbath of sabbaths) to focus…
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The Heart Knows the Bitterness Of Its Soul: Experience As An Integral Expression of Holiness
With the marking of Rosh Chodesh Elul this week, the Jewish tradition invites us into the holiest months of the year. It’s a time for personal introspection and stock-taking, a time to ask ourselves about the people we want to be in the new year. This Elul is particularly significant…
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Bamidbar 5781
This week, we begin the fourth book of the Torah, Sefer Bamidbar. In Hebrew, bamidbar means wilderness or desert. In English, the title Numbers derives from the multiple censuses taken throughout the book. Bamidbar is a much more apt title for the journey that we will be taking these next…
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Kedoshim 5781
Our double parsha this week, Acharei Mot-Kedoshim, as with so much of Torah, covers a lot of ground and is multi-faceted and multi-layered. These parshiyot contain verses that have provided considerable strength and inspiration to us throughout the centuries, as well as verses that have caused tremendous pain. I am…
Rabbi Lauren Tuchman 