💀 What Zombie shows reveals about compassion fatigue, psychic numbing, and how Torah teaches us to remember. #Shoftim #parashahoftheweek

What does #thewalkingdead teach us about compassion in a world that grows numb? Think of Sheriff Rick Grimes. In the first episode, he honors the fallen stranger ("we will always remember him") before his empathy fades. Likewise, our hearts risk hardening in the face of relentless tragedy. This sermon explores how constant exposure to mass shootings and global horrors leads to compassion fatigue—as described in NPR’s “Another Mass Shooting? ‘Compassion Fatigue’ Is a Natural Reaction” and psychic numbing, which was unpacked by the APA in their article “COVID-19 & Psychic Numbing.”

Together, they demonstrate how numbers can often overshadow human stories. Torah offers a different way forward. Through Ramban’s vision of “circumcising the heart,” the haunting ritual of the Eglah Arufah, Seforno’s call to spare the trees, and Ibn Ezra’s demand for a culture that cherishes life, Judaism insists that every individual soul matters—even amid war. This week, we speak the names of Harper Lillian Moyski (10) and Fletcher Merkel (8)—two children whose lives cannot be reduced to statistics. In Elul, may we resist numbness, remember the names, and soften our hearts—so compassion remains our sacred response.

📖 Texts: Deuteronomy 21 (Eglah Arufah), Ramban, Seforno, Ibn Ezra, Mishnah Sanhedrin Articles

📰: Another Mass Shooting? ‘Compassion Fatigue’ Is a Natural Reaction” - https://www.npr.org/sections/health-s...

Paul Slovic observes the ‘psychic numbing’ of COVID-19 - https://www.apa.org/members/content/c...

🕯️ Remembering: Harper Lillian Moyski (10) & Fletcher Merkel (8)

➡️ Watch to discover how Torah challenges us to resist numbness, remember names, and soften our hearts in a world that too often forgets.

https://youtu.be/ES6VfgI4FGk?si=xwBOmw6JgxtkjLJ3

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Jim Morrison once sang, “When you’re strange, no one remembers your name.” This week in Parashat Eikev, I reflect on how the Torah commands us to do the opposite: to remember and to love the stranger, because we ourselves were strangers in Egypt. I share why this mitzvah is the most repeated in the Torah, how it speaks to today’s epidemic of loneliness, and what it means to build a Jewish community where no one is left unseen or forgotten.

Click here for the YouTube version

This week, Torah, holiday, and my own life all aligned. Parashat Va’etchanan commands us to love God with all our heart, soul, and might. The Jewish calendar gave us Tu B’Av, our festival of love, and on top of that, it’s our 19th wedding anniversary.

In this episode, I revisit my original “Love Is a Verb” sermon from years ago, adding new insights from Jewish tradition, Steven Covey, Rabbi Shai Held, and the changes I’ve seen in relationships today, including the so-called Gen Z “Sex Depression” courtesy of Dr. Jean Twenge's research in her book Generations: The Real Differences Between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers, and Silents―and What They Mean for America's Future.

We’ll talk about how real love, whether for a spouse, a friend, a community, or God, isn’t just a feeling you wait to happen — it’s something you practice every single day through giving, serving, forgiving, and showing up.