Shabbat Hazon: Massachusetts Reimagining Communities Sermon & Study Toolkit

by Cantor Vera Broekhuysen, with resources from Rabbi Becky Silverstein, Rabbi Jim Morgan, and Rabbi Shahar Colt
T'ruah invites Massachusetts clergy to use this toolkit as a way to connect the decarceration of women and girls in the Commonwealth with Shabbat Hazon.
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The Holy Task of Welcoming People Re-Entering Society

by Rabbi Deena Cowans
The experiences of those returning from incarceration recall the Torah’s description of someone with tzara’at, an infectious and highly stigmatized skin disease. 
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Those who served their time deserve a second chance (Shabbat Nachamu)

by Rabbi Edward C. Bernstein
A d’var Torah on Shabbat Nachamu Clarence Office, Jr., of Miami, FL, served in the U.S. Army for three years in the 1970s and was honorably discharged. Like many veterans, Clarence tragically fell into drug use and was arrested for drug offenses. He served a prison term and paid his debt to society. Clarence now...
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The Work of Teshuvah

by Philip Gibbs
According to the Jewish tradition, the period of repentance continues after Yom Kippur until the end of Sukkot. These days may continue to be an opportunity for reflection, but these final days of the holidays are days of celebration. Though none of us know what our fates hold for us, we act as if the...
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Envisioning a Just Society

by Mónica Gomery
In parshat Ki Tetze we encounter the case of the ben sorer u’moreh, the wayward and rebellious son. We read in Devarim 21:18-21 that if a child does not obey his mother and father they should bring him out to the gates of the city before a council of elders, publicly declare him a glutton...
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