I’m the rabbi of Tzedek Chicago. (You can read a longer bio here.)

I began this blog in 2006 largely as a way to keep in touch with my congregation and to post, Torah teachings, poetry. political commentary, or whimsical observations of whatever caught my fancy.

Over the years, I increasingly used Shalom Rav to chart the changes of my own personal relationship to Israel. Eventually the subject of Israel/Palestine became a primary focus of the blog. From 2008 to 2014 I carried on something of a conversation with my readers on this issue; many of those posts and comments were later published in a book, “Wrestling in the Daylight: A Rabbi’s Path to Palestinian Solidarity.

I don’t post as often as I did, partly because these conversations are happening more frequently over social media, and partly because I’m more interested in writing poetry and liturgy these days. You can also read more of my poetic/liturgical work on my other blog, Yedid Nefesh.

The opinions I share on my blogs are mine alone.