Rabbi Josh Rose

08/25/2026

08/24/2026

How do we preserve the two conflicting impulses in Judaism: to build structures and norms on the one hand and to commit to radical freedom and rebellion on the other?

08/22/2026

?

08/22/2026

The jewish tradition has conflicting impulses. One is to honor law and norms and to express righteous and justice through those. But the other is a radical break from the world that is. Think Abraham who left behind the world and gods that he knew. Think about Moses who destroys the society that raised him.

08/20/2026

In the Jewish tradition law can be an expression of justice and compassion. But can law also get in the way?

08/14/2026

One of the fundamental elements of Judaism is the idea that we find meaning and purpose by connecting to a community through laws, norms and traditions. Just some compassion have to lie at the foundation of this communal structure. But there are problems and limits.

08/13/2026

There are two fundamental forces in the Jewish spirit and the Jewish texts. Sometimes these amplify one another other times they are intention with one another. But they are alive in us now and are the source of a lot of difficulty pain and division, but they also contain the possibility of hope and rebuilding. This is #1 of…. ?

08/11/2026

If the world was created from the Torah and the Torah is language, then the world around us is a kind of divine speech. But the problem is that speech is not easily intelligible. A conversation requires one who speaks and one who understands or reacts to what is being spoken. Maybe the challenge is to become good listeners.

08/10/2026

This is the third post in a series about the Torah and the physical world. If the tour is the blueprint of creation, that means that language is the blueprint of creation, which explains why in Genesis God speaks the world into being this also means that the physical world all around us is a form of speech that we have to interpret together to understand what we are being told.

08/07/2026