Rabbi Ballaban’s Monthly Column
We Must Remember Their Names
We Must Remember Their Names By Rabbi Ari Ballaban The Israeli poet “Zelda” Schneurson Mishkovsky wrote the following well-known poem: Each of us has a name given by God and given by our parents Each of us has a name given by our stature and our smile and given by what we wear […]
Our Differences Are Our Strengths
Our Differences Are Our Strengths By Rabbi Ari Ballaban Then Haman said to Ahasuerus, “There is a certain people dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom who keep themselves separate…” It was with these words, according to Megillat Esther, that Haman began his explanation to King Ahasuerus of why the […]
Whimsical Weather in the Ancient World and Today
Whimsical Weather in the Ancient World and TodayRabbi Ari Ballaban In light of this year’s ongoing and unpredictable winter weather, I cannot help but think of one of my favorite, quirky talmudic stories. The Babylonian Talmud tells of an especially troubling time of drought in Jerusalem. The Rabbis had been unsuccessful in praying for […]
Lessons of the Liminal: Focusing on the Journey, not the Destination
Lessons of the Liminal: Focusing on the Journey, not the DestinationBy Rabbi Ari Ballaban Liminality—though some consider this word needless jargon, I suspect it nevertheless is a favorite of many rabbis (though Rabbi Chessin prefers “bifurcation!”) This densely descriptive term is one that people who study religion love to love, because it enables them to name an important type of experience that crosses boundaries of culture, time, and […]
Hanukkah Can Help with Crisis of Faith
Hanukkah Can Help with Crisis of FaithBy Rabbi Ari Ballaban Like many Jews, I have a little bit of family in Israel. My Israeli relatives (cousins, aunts and uncles) moved there in the wake of the Holocaust; the rest of my family chose to come to America. One might expect the Israeli side of my […]
Fighting Hate at Home
May 1, 2019
Fighting Hate at Home By Rabbi Ari Ballaban On May 25th, our community will be tested: a group of demonstrators from an Indiana-based affiliate of the KKK will be holding a rally downtown at Courthouse Square. From what I’ve seen and heard, people are planning to respond on that day in one of three main […]