David Steinberg

Rosh Hashanah last week was lovely. Here's a photo taken at a family service and Tashikh activity at a local park.

720 Days.

720 Days without sunlight.

720 Days without enough food.

720 Days relying on the people who put a gun to your head to keep you alive.

720 Days without family, friends, or even acquaintances to talk to.

720 Days too many.

This Rosh Hashanah, give your rabbi a break The Days of Awe are a stressful time for everybody, and we all must strive to better in these contentious times.

forward.com/opinion/7711...

There's a fourth camp: those of us who are conflicted about but mostly for continuing the war until Hamas is totally defeated.

I'm glad to learn this. I had watched the remarks he gave at the Friday morning press conference.

I listened live to Governor Cox's remarks. In general, I found them very heartfelt and wise. However, I do wish that when he was recounting the evils of political assassinations that he would have also mentioned the recent murder of Minnesota Democratic state legislators.

The Path Forward - JCRC Because Hamas thrives on suffering, we must work toward a future where all the hostages return home, the anguish of both Israelis and Gazans ends, and this terrible war is finally over.

minndakjcrc.org/news/the-pat...

Although I'm not a member of the Rabbinical Assembly (the professional association of Conservative/Masorti rabbis), among recent statements on the current situation in Gaza the RA's statement today is the one with which I find myself most in agreement. www.rabbinicalassembly.org/story/statem...

We talked about this opinion of yours just last Shabbat at our Torah study on Parashat Pinchas!

I am tired of being gaslit about what a lot of activism for Palestine is really about: social license to be violent towards any Jew on the planet.

I am upset about Hamas's conduct, I would never beat a Palestinian, Arab, or Muslim with a chair because of it.

Okay. This thread made my day.

A graphic from the Jewish Council for Public Affairs titled “JCPA Statement on Attack in Boulder, Colorado.” The statement expresses concern about an incident in Boulder, CO, where gasoline and a Molotov cocktail were reportedly thrown at participants in a "Run For Their Lives" event for Israeli hostages, resulting in multiple injuries. The statement links this attack to a recent antisemitic shooting outside the Capital Jewish Museum and the firebombing of a Jewish governor’s home on Passover. It warns against targeting Jews over Israeli policy, calling such actions unequivocally antisemitic. The statement highlights a broader rise in antisemitism and urges all who care about civil and human rights to speak out against hate and violence. JCPA’s logo appears at the bottom. The background includes a faint image of a protest crowd.

We are horrified by the attack in Boulder targeting an event in support of the Israeli hostages. We are closely monitoring and will update as additional information is confirmed.

Deporting a gay man to Russia is beyond horrific, and yet this admin is happy to do it.

And the verbal abuse he describes is abhorrent; and not new. Guards at detention centers, jails, and prisons get away with crap like this all the time. It’s appalling, it’s not new under Trump, just worse now.

EXCLUSIVE: Russian Dissident Says ICE Threatened Him With Rape if He Refused Deportation After three months in Eloy Detention Center, Maksim Borisov faces deportation to Russia, where he says he’ll be tortured or killed. ICE told him U.S. prison would be worse.

Like many queer Russians Borisov fled Russia after the country's Supreme court declared "the LGBT movement" an "international terrorist organization," prompting mass arrests

Mazal tov!

Please don't leave San Salvador without taking Kilmar with you.

I think you just tap a debit card or credit card and don't need a smart phone

One of the things about the Ukraine war that is most misunderstood, particularly by isolationists, is the idea that if you abandon Ukraine that this settles the issue.

Thread incoming

AIdolatry Worshipping at the Al Altar

My colleague Rabbi Joshua Lesser has posted a profound reflection on the topic of AI. rabbijoshua.substack.com/p/aidolatry?...

Beautiful thread on the parasha. תודה

Please recommit. There's already more than enough fracas in the world. שבת שלום וחודש טוב.

A very nice and concise thread about Tu Bishevat.

Reform Leadership Responds to President Trump’s Recent Comments on Gaza We strongly condemn the proposal described by President Donald Trump of a U.S. takeover of the Gaza Strip in the form of a real estate development plan.

urj.org/press-room/r...

J Street cannot express strongly enough opposition to the ideas being put forward by President Trump regarding Gaza. There aren’t adequate words to express our disgust at the idea of forcible displacement of Palestinians with the assistance of the United States of America. 1/5

What do you even say about this absurd & dangerous press conference?

Unfathomably horrific and cruel for Palestinians. So incredibly foolish re: US interests. And fundamentally at odds with Israel’s own future — because there is no Jewish, democratic Israel without Palestinian self-determination.

It bears repeating and repeating ad nauseum: If you withheld support from Biden/Harris as a means of advocating for Palestinian nationhood and the aspirations of the Palestinian people and you did not see this moment coming: You are a performative, sloganeering and politically incompetent rube.

Slowly working my way through Proust's multi-volume "In Search of Lost Time". Currently in the middle of book 5 ("The Prisoner").

*Jan. 6 pardons
*Draconian anti-immigrant EOs
*Nazi salutes

All of it is intended to normalize and embolden violent extremism. And all of it directly threatens Jews, so many other communities, and our very democracy.

If we can’t call this out, I really don’t know what we’re doing.

The triennial cycle determines what will be read from the sefer Torah on Shabbat morning. But the whole parasha is still fair game for personal or group study and for chomer lidrosh for any divrei Torah that might be offered that week (including any youth's bar or bat mitzvah speech).

It was a meaningful experience to attend the Send Off ceremony today for Duluth's 612 Engineer Detachment of the Army National Guard. These dedicated soldiers are heading to the Middle East to support Operation Inherent Resolve against ISIS.