A Message from Marc

Marc's Message

Marc Baker headshot
CJP's President and CEO, Rabbi Marc Baker, writes and teaches about leadership, community, and civic life, bringing the voice of Jewish tradition to contemporary issues.

 

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This Land Is Our Land

Dear friends,

I watched Wednesday’s inauguration with a great deal of emotion. I was struck by Missouri Senator Roy Blunt’s quote from President Ronald Reagan’s first inauguration: “We come to this place once again,” Blunt said. “Commonplace and miraculous, a national moment of …

Servant Leadership

Dear friends,

We are still reeling from last week’s attack on the U.S. Capitol, which reflected our country at its worst. Yet, we are looking forward to Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Inauguration Day next week, both of which inspire hope for a better future.

These days also remind us th…

Storming the Capitol

Shalom Chaverim (Dear Friends),

Like most of you I’m sure, I have spent today watching the events taking place at our Capitol with sadness and horror.

As a proud American, it broke my heart when my son said to me, “Abba (Dad), we are the laughingstock of the world.” I never imagined …

Living With Dying: A Reflection on 2020

Shalom Chaverim,

In this past Sunday’s The New York Times, Dr. BJ Miller wrote about death: “This year has awakened us to the fact that we die. We’ve always known it to be true in a technical sense, but a pandemic demands that we internalize this understanding.”

This might not se…

Lighting the Way

Shalom Chaverim,
 
Earlier this week, we marked Rosh Chodesh Kislev, the first day of the Jewish month of Kislev. It is the month with the shortest, darkest days of the year and it is the month in which Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, will remind us that we can see and create light in …