Blog Posts
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Seventh Night of Hanukkah
BEING THOUGHTFUL ABOUT THE WORDS WE SPEAK: “There is a great deal of Jewish commentary on speech—about gossip, shaming, lying, and more—and a verse from the biblical book of Proverbs warns, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.” This may seem hyperbolic, until you consider this quote from Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel:…
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Now Taking Reservations!
Please register for our new Lace on Race website by following the instructions below. Registering early will help us set up the cafe with appropriate seating so that everything is ready for our soft launch on January 1st. There will be construction and fine-tuning up until our grand opening on January 21st, just in time…
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Sixth Night of Hanukkah: Caring for the Stranger
“Like tikkun olam, we take for granted” Sarah says, “we take for granted that “loving the stranger” is a core Jewish value—but its origins are quite radical. In the Torah, God repeatedly tells the Israelites to care for the stranger “for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” But God seems to be getting…
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Fifth Night of Hanukkah
Uniqueness “While human beings often manufacture identical products, according to Jewish tradition, God created each human being to be entirely unique. Whether or not you buy the theology here, you can appreciate the sentiment: There has never been anyone else like us and there never will be, and we each have a unique contribution to…
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Fourth Night of Hanukkah
“Ancient Rabbis understood the Torah’s assertion that all humans descended from Adam to mean that we are all created equal. No one can ever say “My ancestor is greater than yours,” because we all have the same ancestor. This isn’t a scientific statement, it’s a moral one: We are all part of the same human…
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Third Night of Hanukkah
“One who destroys a life, Jewish tradition tells us, is considered to have destroyed the entire world; one who saves a life has saved the entire world. A person is not a statistic, or a unit of GDP, but a boundlessly precious being who has an entire universe of potential. This may seem obvious, but…
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Second Night of Hanukkah
“We proudly point out that tzedakah means “justice,” not “charity,” but why does that distinction matter? Charity is given out of the kindness of our hearts, when we feel moved to do so. Tzedakah is considered mandatory under Jewish law. We’re supposed to give it whether we feel like it or not. It’s like ensuring…
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The First Night of Hanukkah
“Tikkun olam has become a catchphrase for social justice in contemporary Jewish life—and for good reason. Our emphasis on repairing the world speaks to something centrally Jewish: our belief in human responsibility. Jewish worship isn’t just about contemplation or petition, it’s about action. We don’t just sit around believing in God, or asking God for…
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The Lace on Race Mental and Emotional Health Fund
This holiday season is so different. The usual stresses of navigating December are compounded by the current realities. Who would have believed this time in 2019 that we would all be re-conceptualizing how we spread joy and cheer? How do we create magic and wonder and vibe during Zoom chats? This particular season, stressful in…
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Their Words Are Not For You
Have you found yourself quoting the words of a Black activist, past or present, but ESPECIALLY activists of the past who are no longer living? Did you interpret those words to be defending or in anyway justifying thoughts that involve controlling, diminishing, demeaning, glossing over, softening, etc. what Black people are doing or saying or…