Category Archives: General HJ

Days of Hate and Violence

Posted on February 27, 2023 by Rabbi Adam Chalom

The last weekend in February 2023 saw two crises in the Jewish world: a “National Day of Hate” proclaimed by fringe antisemites, and the killing of two Israeli Jews in the West Bank followed by significant rioting and property damage … Continue reading →

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Judging With Uncertainty

Posted on February 8, 2022 by Rabbi Adam Chalom

Evaluating reality based on evidence will be more ambiguous and indecisive than absolute faith. It will also be more true to reality. Continue reading →

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Of Maus and Men

Posted on January 31, 2022 by Rabbi Adam Chalom

Why has the removal of Maus: A Survivor’s Tale by Art Spiegelman from a middle school curriculum provoked such anger? Continue reading →

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Yaakov Malkin – A Tribute

Posted on July 26, 2019 by Rabbi Adam Chalom

Many parents have only a few children. A great teacher has many children, because the teacher’s students become teachers themselves, sharing wisdom even wider. Continue reading →

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Tree of Life

Posted on November 5, 2018 by Rabbi Adam Chalom

The Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh contains multitudes…. Continue reading →

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Jewish and True

Posted on June 29, 2018 by Rabbi Adam Chalom

Humanistic Judaism evaluates choices from its inheritance through two criteria: 1) Is it Jewish, does it enhance Jewish connections? And 2) Is it true, does it reflect my values and beliefs? Continue reading →

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Doing Jewish

Posted on May 18, 2018 by Rabbi Adam Chalom

Should we stop talking about “being Jewish,” and instead focus on “doing Jewish?” Continue reading →

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Embracing Complexity

Posted on January 12, 2018 by Rabbi Adam Chalom

This post first appeared in The Shofar newsletter of Kol Hadash Humanistic Congregation in November 2017 Did you know that the largest organization in the world that supports the teaching of evolution and opposes the death penalty is the Catholic Church? Political … Continue reading →

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A Culture of Blessing

Posted on January 9, 2018 by Rabbi Adam Chalom

What positives can Secular Humanistic Jews distill from the traditional culture of blessing? Continue reading →

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The New Jewish Landscape – 2017

Posted on August 28, 2017 by Rabbi Adam Chalom

This post is based on a sermon delivered at Kol Hadash Humanistic Congregation on August 25, 2017. You can hear audio of the sermon as delivered here.  2000 years ago, the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed. This was a crushing … Continue reading →

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