In honor of Yom Ha’Atzmaut Do not be afraid. Walk through fear into an expansive, unfolding future. There is a line we carry as Jews, whether we name it or not. From The Silver Platter (Alterman): “And the land will be quiet… The youth will step forward and say: We are the silver platter on which the Jewish state was given.” A people does not come into being without fear. A state is not born without trembling hands. Jerusalem, 1975. Jerusalem is where I learned about fear.

Assistant Director of Education (Part-Time) Congregation Kol Ami: A Center for Jewish Life (Kirkland, WA) Kol Ami is seeking a warm, organized, and relational educator to serve as our Assistant Director of Education . This part-time role supports our vibrant youth and family education programs and helps create joyful, inclusive Jewish learning experiences. Responsibilities include: Onsite leadership for 28 Saturday morning programs (8:00 AM–12:00 PM) Supporting 2 Friday night

Train Tunnel Standing at the sealed passage between Israel and Lebanon If I could open up the tunnel between Israel and Lebanon at Rosh HaNikra, I would hack away at it with my nails, my teeth, with everything I have. I have stood and looked at that sealed tunnel at Rosh HaNikra many times in my life. Remembering that, even if for a short time, a train ran from the beautiful coastal city of Haifa up the stunning Mediterranean coastline to Beirut. Beirut. I have heard it is, o

Never Again—for Us or for Anyone? Yom HaShoah 5786 | Kol Ami: A Center for Jewish Life In memory of the six million Jews and all those who were killed during the Shoah (catastrophe), and in honor of those who stood up for us when we could not stand up for ourselves. “Never again”—just for us? Or “never again”—for anyone? Where are we this year? Where are you? We, as human beings, move constantly between the particular and the universal. Between caring for our own and caring f

Last night, as we gathered under the full moon of freedom, our hearts were not only filled with memory, but with fear, urgency, and deep love for our people. We know this night. We have lived this night before. We know the feeling of our ancestors, running in the dark, stepping into the unknown, carrying what they could, trusting in something not yet visible. Tonight, many of our people in Israel are again under threat, sheltering, listening, waiting. The ancient story is no

This August, something beautiful is happening just up the road from us. From August 13–16, 2026, in nearby Duvall, a new gathering is emerging: CHAVAYA — A Jewish Transformational Festival. It is a weekend of music, dance, learning, Shabbat, and connection. A space to step outside of our daily rhythms and enter into something more spacious, more embodied, more alive. And I am honored to share that I will be there as one of the workshop leaders. What is Chavaya? Chavaya means

Amaze. Amaze. Amaze.

There was a time when Jewish life revolved around sacrifice. Animals brought to an altar. Smoke rising. Blood marking the line between the everyday and the holy. The book of Leviticus sits in that world. A world where closeness to God meant offering something up. Something costly. Something alive. And then it stopped. With the destruction of the Second Temple, sacrifice as the center of Jewish life ended. Not slowly. It just stopped. The altar went quiet. So the question is n

Across Jewish history, sacred spaces have been targets. The places where Jews gather to pray, learn, sing, celebrate, and mourn have again and again drawn the attention of those who wish Jewish life would disappear. The Temple in Jerusalem. The synagogue down the street. The study hall. The holiday table. The preschool hallway. It is an old story. Painfully old. And yet the deeper story is not the violence. The deeper story is that we are still here. Because Jewish history is

This Friday night Kol Ami will join Jewish communities across the country in observing HIAS Refugee Shabbat, a Shabbat dedicated to remembering our own refugee history and standing with refugees today. The work of HIAS began more than a century ago when Jewish communities organized to help Jews fleeing pogroms in Eastern Europe. Over time that work expanded. Today HIAS helps refugees of many backgrounds rebuild their lives with safety, dignity, and hope. As HIAS president Mar

This week I was in Washington, DC. I spent several days at the J Street national convention. More than a thousand Jews gathered with Israelis, Palestinians, scholars, activists, rabbis, and community leaders to wrestle with the future of Israel and the region. Then I went to Capitol Hill to lobby members of Congress against expanding the war with Iran. Our Washington State J Street delegation met with both of our senators, Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell. Most of us in the ro

Friends, Please please register for our Purim fundraiser and bring a friend or two. I am asking with my whole heart. We need to raise $26,000 before the end of this fiscal year to keep Kol Ami strong and steady, and we are doing it the Jewish way, through community, generosity, laughter, and showing up for one another. I know. People are tired. The world feels heavy. Many of us are carrying more than we can name. That is exactly why we are doing this. Because we need a good t

Justice, Justice you shall pursue. DT 16:20 Dear Kol Ami Community, I am a second-generation rabbi committed to nonviolent protest and activism. Like my father before me, we are students of Dr. King who taught non-violent social change. That is my path. This Friday (1/30) night at 6pm, we will join together at Kol Ami to make WHISTLE KITS so we are ready to act and alert. To keep our neighbors safe. Shabbat veggie soup and bread will be served. Registration required. Look in

(As I write this week are on lockdown in a church. ICE abducted someone a few blocks away. Protesters are hurt. I am safe. And I am unafraid.) Primary learning: No one is coming to save us. No one is going to tell us what to do. There is no one in charge of the resistance. Each person must act according to their own conscience and their own abilities. There is no cavalry coming. So we must prepare — morally, communally, practically. It is –16 degrees outside today in Minneapo

Why I am going to Minneapolis

From Rabbi Kinberg

New Year’s Jewish soup for 2026 / 5786: 6 bowls, 6 blessings “Soup is cuisine’s kindest course. It breathes reassurance; it steams consolation…” — Louis P. De Gouy “Good soup is one of the prime ingredients of good living.” — Louis P. De Gouy “It is impossible to think of any good meal… without soup or bread in it.” — M. F. K. Fisher (as quoted in a 1988 context) January 1, 2026 (a Thursday) lands inside Jewish year 5786, which means we’re not starting from zero—we’re doing a

Tonight we blast light

Fried and Not Fried: 8 Meals of Hanukkah 8 recipes for a week of celebration and light Hanukkah is often introduced as a holiday of fried foods—latkes, sufganiyot, that glorious moment when a kitchen smells like oil and onions and sweetness. And yes: oil matters. We eat fried foods to remember the miracle of a small, consecrated supply of oil that burned longer than it should have, a stubborn light that refused to go out. But Hanukkah has always been more than the fryer. It’s

GPS theory and Judaism