Overcoming the shame of family sins

Too many of us carry around sins of others. Parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles. We live with the shame as if it's our own, and then sometimes we even pass that trauma and shame down to our kids. This piece explains how and why we can and need to end the practice of feeling shameful for others' actions. 

Lessons in self-defense

For decades politicians have struggled with elusive Middle East peace. But we now have the clear solution. The Abraham Accords. The uniqueness of this approach was its recognition that in order to achieve real peace, it's not about divorcing from each other. It's about cultural exchange and truly getting to know each other. Celebrating each other. It's really the answer to most of our human divisiveness. This piece breaks it down.

Travel is one of my favorite things in the world. On a deeper level, it allows us the opportunity to meet and get to know people who are not the same as us. The unintentional result is that we get to undo ingrained unconscious bias we have towards others. 

This essay uses my 2021 visit to Istanbul to highlight the idea of ending racial and ethnic distancing to eradicate our deep biases.

Sadly, tragedy struck Denver's Jewish community when five criminals went on a crime spree in August, 2021 and murdered a 19 year-old student from Cleveland who was studying at Denver's premier Jewish learning institution. 

We often hear people send "praying for you" wishes, which are always welcome, but this essay dives into why we must not forget action to accompany our prayers. This approach is fundamental to Jewish teachings. 

This essay explores how we can change the way we care about others’ tragedies. Change the way we practice empathy when someone else cries out in pain. Let’s give some urgency to the challenges confronted by others and their families. We can take more seriously when someone says they are being treated unfairly.

In the aftermath of a horrific criminal murder at my son's Jewish school in Denver, Colorado, it's time we start figuring out empathy. We can't afford to wait until something happens to us to start caring about others. 

Well-known contemporary spiritual leader Rabbi Yosef Jacobson once remarked, “When a child gets angry with a parent and says, ‘I don’t want to speak to you ever again,’ two hours later the kid is having ice cream with them. When an adult says they won’t speak to you again, twenty years later, they’re still not invited to the wedding of their adult children.” Why? asks Rabbi Jacobson. Because children choose to be happy. Adults choose to be right.

This essay explores how we can raise beautiful children, even after divorce, while putting our adult egos aside. 

This essay delves into the definition of Zionism and the historical and indigenous connection of the Jewish people to Israel. ​Zionism isn’t what you think it is. It’s simply the ideology that the Jews have a right to return to their original home. The birthplace of the Jewish people. The land from which they were exiled multiple times. Before Jews ultimately spread to every corner of the world (places like Morocco, Yemen, Iraq, Russia, Germany, Poland, Spain, Brazil, Portugal), Jews were living in the land of Israel under numerous Jewish kings and other rulers.

The Challenges of Intersectionality

So many people wear different hats in society, bringing with them different types of challenges and privileges. This essay breaks down the challenges of intersectionality and how we can start addressing those unique experiences. 

Israelis and Palestinians have been at each other's throats for the better part of a century. For Jews, Israel is their eternal homeland. It's the place they returned to after so many years of exile. For the Palestinians, it's the place they lived and were expelled from by the returning Jews. The problem is that Israelis reject the Palestinian love and longing for their home, and Palestinians reject the Jewish connection to the same land. This essay explores how mutual recognition is the only path for peace. 

Passover is the story of the liberation of the Jewish people from slavery in Egypt. From brutal oppression and harsh conditions, the Jewish people were able to cling to their identity, help their fellows and connect with allies in their journey from bondage to freedom. Jeffrey uses the lessons of the Jewish story as a blueprint for our modern race problems, borrowing from his years of learning ancient Jewish texts with renowned rabbis in Israel, New York and St. Louis.

Albert Einstein is of course known as arguably the greatest scientist of all time, but what most of us don’t know was Einstein’s work towards a more inclusive world. Einstein worked tirelessly to eradicate racism and unjust systems. He used his position of power to speak out in support of his Black and Brown fellow citizens. He wrote for publications advocating significant change. He befriended and treated as equals many Black men. Einstein was even known to go for walks in Black neighborhoods to do some of his best thinking. Einstein was an original anti-racist. Author Jeffrey Kass shares Einstein’s beautiful life and actions as a guide for us today. This particular essay was read over 4,000 times and shared by major online influencers. It’s a must read. ​

​Lovers of peace and justice have a tough time assigning anything good to Donald Trump. By any standard, he stoked the flames of hatred, gave renewed voice to white supremacists and disrespected so many groups it was hard to keep track. From Charlottesville good people on both sides to Mexican rapists, nobody fighting for social justice respects Trump. So when 45 helped procure multiple peace agreements in the Middle East, many on the left remained silent. Author and activist Jeffrey Kass reminds us in this essay that the peace agreements he helped secure among Israel, UAE, Dubai and Morocco are good, regardless of the wrapping paper they came in. That anytime you bring former enemies to peace and normalization it’s a good thing.

This essay is a must read for people wanting intellectual honesty. Lovers of peace and justice have a tough time assigning anything good to Donald Trump. By any standard, he stoked the flames of hatred, gave renewed voice to white supremacists and disrespected so many groups it was hard to keep track. From Charlottesville good people on both sides to Mexican rapists, nobody fighting for social justice respects Trump. So when 45 helped procure multiple peace agreements in the Middle East, many on the left remained silent.

​Author and activist Jeffrey Kass reminds us in this essay that the peace agreements he helped secure among Israel, UAE, Dubai and Morocco are good, regardless of the wrapping paper they came in. That anytime you bring former enemies to peace and normalization it’s a good thing. This essay is a must read for people wanting intellectual honesty. 

Too often people, particularly on the far left, are so quick to lump the Jews and Israel in with every colonial conquest the world has seen. They do this in the stated name of advocating for Palestinians. This essay dives into why this is counter-productive and actually doesn’t help the Palestinian cause. Author and activist Jeffrey Kass reminds us that the Jews have a 3,000 year connection to the land of Israel and didn’t colonialize anything. Recognizing rather than canceling the Jewish indigenous connection to that land will allow us to practice intellectual honesty and then actually address where the Jewish state has failed the Palestinians. ​