Rabbi Michael Lezak

“There is no moral distance … between the facts of life in San Francisco and the facts of life in Birmingham.         -James Baldwin, Take This Hammer (1965) ‘…After that, you shall be called City of Righteousness, Faithful City…’ -Isaiah 1:26 Every Friday morning, a group of volunteers from The Kitchen (a congregation founded by my wife, Rabbi Noa Kushner) bakes 100+ challahs in the GLIDE basement. Before we distribute this hot Jewish-sabbath bread to a largely non-Jewish staff and hungry clientele, volunteers and staff gather in a circle in a small storage room. Before we recite the motzi […]

“From out of the meitzar, from out of a very narrow or confined space, I called out to God. You God answered me from a place of vast expansiveness.” -Psalm 118:5 It’s two days before Pesach here in Marin County. The Mitzvah Kitchen volunteers at Congregation Rodef Sholom are feverishly preparing matzah ball soup, brisket and all the fixings for 110 men at San Quentin Prison, three miles south of our congregation. It’s a massive effort, with last minute trips to the market, feverishly purchasing food and containers. I get a call from Rabbi Paul, the chaplain at San Quentin, […]