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

Thursday, January 29, 2026 — Washington State Capitol, Olympia Kol Ami family, It’s time again to bring our collective voice, our values, and our Jewish presence to Olympia for Jewish Community Lobby Day — and this year, after seeing the results from the recent JCRC Policy Priorities Survey, it’s clearer than ever why we need a strong Kol Ami showing. 759 Voices from Across Washington This fall, 759 Jewish community members from 96 organizations and congregations across the s

Thi Sunday!

Sabbatical Project

D’var Torah in Memory of Rabbi Arthur Waskow z”l In the days of Noah... In the days of Noah, Torah tells us, “The Eternal saw that great was humanity’s wickedness on earth” (Genesis 6:5). The earth itself had become nishchatah, corrupted, ruined, not only by human violence but by a breakdown in relationship. The covenant between humanity and creation had been violated. When God instructs Noah to “make yourself an ark” (6:14), it is more than an act of survival. It is a call t

This Shabbat, after our services, youth programs, and Simchat Torah celebration, I’ll be heading to Seattle to join the No Kings rally. Protesting the reality of our national march towards authoritarianism. All the signs are there. I’ll be dressed as Moses (I love a costume) staff in hand, sign raised high - carrying a protest poster created by T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Justice. It reads: “Resisting tyrants since Pharaoh.” That line says it all. I feel like as Jews we h

As we prepare to enter the High Holidays together, I want to share a bit about what guides me in this sacred season. My sermons are never...

Tonight begins Elul, the month of spiritual/personal refltion before Rosh Hashanah.

Historical note: Tu b'Av begins Friday at sundown. Tu B’Av, the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Av, began as an ancient festival of love...

Tisha B'Av Transgression: A Love Story

Reflections from the Sabbatical

Jewish Joy Concert