Hebrew College recently announced that Rabbi Justin David, currently the senior rabbi at Congregation B’nai Israel in

Northampton, MA, has been named as the next Dean of the Rabbinical School. Rabbi David succeeds Rabbi Daniel Judson and will transition into his new role on July 1, 2023.

A graduate of Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies and Jewish Theological Seminary of America, where he was ordained in 1999, Rabbi David served as the senior rabbi at Congregation B’nai Israel for 21 years and is currently finishing his doctorate in education at JTS.

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The rabbis teach that Esther drew upon the words of Psalm 22 as she bravely went before King Achashverosh in an effort to save the Jews of ancient Persia.

“But these words—and the psalm as a whole—have been valuable to many Jews over the generations, especially those experiencing hardship. Not only does the psalm give readers permission to express their own pain and disappointment with God, but it moves from an opening cry of abandonment to praise for God’s deliverance. The psalmist thus offers the seeker hope in the possibility of salvation.

It is no wonder then that Jewish interpreters have connected Psalm 22 to the figure of Queen Esther and Purim, which we will celebrate in just over a week.”

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One of the great religious questions in every generation is: How can we ever be sure of what God really desires of us? Many driven people—rabbis, politicians, activists—speak of being “called” by God for a task or a role—but always there is doubt: Is it really a divine calling? Or are these things manifestations of the ego?

This is an ancient dilemma as well—and yet the Torah offers one surprising shortcut to knowing God’s will.

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The Dignity Project is a community of practice. This means that when a problem arises in our community, we adapt what we might have already planned and create a solution that aligns with our shared values, addresses our common concern, and helps us put our learning into real-life practice.

Several weeks ago, an invited speaker on implicit bias discussed Dave Chappelle’s recent monologue on Saturday Night Live. Chappelle’s humor, while beloved by some, is considered controversial by others—and in our community, the same was true. People responded with a variety of feelings ranging from anger at the controversial nature of Chappelle’s comments, to laughing with Chappelle’s jokes, to true neutrality—or having not heard the monologue in question. There were a range of views as each person heard and interpreted the media clip differently.

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