Rabbi Lauren Tuchman

Category: Teachings

  • On Loving the Stranger — Parashat Kedoshim

    This week, we are returning once more to Parashat Kedoshim, filled with its many interpersonal mitzvot. In the opening verse of the 19th chapter of Leviticus, God enjoins us to be holy, for God, Godself, is holy. The chapter then lays out ways in which we are to be holy,…

  • On Divine Exile and the Sacred Act of Welcoming (Part II)

    This post is a continuation of Part I. It is my intention to now explore and explicate concrete ways in which we, as individuals and communities deeply concerned with the well-being of others and of our world at large, can transform the physical world and our sacred communities such that…

  • On Divine Exile and the Sacred Act of Welcoming (Part I)

    This is the first part of a two-part post. In “Man’s Quest for God”, a series of essays on prayer, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel writes: “The Shechinah [Divine Presence] is in exile, the world is corrupt, and the universe itself is not at home. To pray, then, means to bring…

  • On Bringing Sacred Gifts and Our Sacred Selves

    Last week’s Torah portion, Vayakhel, opens with Moses’ gathering the entirety of the Jewish people together. After reiterating the singular importance of Shabbat observance, specifically focusing on the prohibition of lighting a fire, Moses instructs the people regarding the completion of the Mishkan, or tabernacle, commanding them to bring gifts…

  • A Divine Call for Affirmation

    This past week, Jews around the world commenced the reading of the Book of Exodus as part of the annual Torah reading cycle. This past week’s Torah portion, Parashat Shemot, contain important moments between God and Moses that are often glossed over in the popular recounting of Moses’ encounter with…

  • On Disability and Brokenness: A Letter to My Fellow Clergy and Clergy in Formation

    This may not be an easy discussion, but it is a deeply, deeply necessary one. The subject I wish to broach today is one that is tremendously difficult for me personally, as it is for many people whom you will encounter in your professional and personal lives. The subject is…

  • A Drash on Parashat Noach

    This drash (commentary on the weekly Torah portion) was delivered at JTS on October 5, 2013. Shabbat shalom! In reading and rereading this week’s parsha (portion), I was struck by what our parsha can teach us about proper interpersonal relations and having compassion for others. Our Sages famously do not…

  • Yom Kippur Kavanah

    I am writing this on the eve of Yom Kippur, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar. Yom Kippur is a day on which we communally and individually ask for forgiveness for the sins we have committed against God during the previous year and commit to bettering ourselves spiritually for…

  • On Sinat Chinam, Language, and Bridge-building

    As I write this, it is erev Tisha b’Av, the saddest day on the Jewish calendar, on which we commemorate a host of tragedies that have befallen us throughout history, primarily the destructions of both Temples (the first by the Babylonians in 586 BCE and the second by the Romans…

  • On Disability, Humanity and Dignity

    On June 21, 2013, NBC aired a story entitled: “Activists Say Goodwill Exploits Workers with Penny Wages”, about the practice in some, but not all Goodwill stores of paying workers with disabilities wages far below the Federal Minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. The wage disparities are legal according to…