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Rabbi Jessica Zimmerman Graf

Rabbi Jessica Zimmerman Graf

Rabbi Jessica Zimmerman Graf is the senior rabbi at Congregation Sherith Israel in San Francisco. She is a participant in the AJWS Global Justice Fellowship, which inspires, educates and trains American rabbis to become national advocates for human rights.

The Twelve Tribes of Israel camped around the Tabernacle from a 1683 etching by Jan Luyken.
Posted inTorah

Tribal flags and summer camp color wars: How God turned us into one people

Rabbi Jessica Zimmerman Graf by Rabbi Jessica Zimmerman Graf May 14, 2026May 15, 2026

The Torah column is supported by a generous donation from Eve Gordon-Ramek in memory of Kenneth Gordon. BamidbarNumbers 1:1-4:20 This week, we begin a new book of the Torah. In […]

"Jethro and Moses" by James Tissot, ca. 1900
Posted inTorah

Why did the Israelites need judges before there were laws?

Rabbi Jessica Zimmerman Graf by Rabbi Jessica Zimmerman Graf February 5, 2026February 5, 2026
Abram Journeying into the Land of Canaan
Posted inTorah

With hostages home, we can imagine Lech Lecha anew

Rabbi Jessica Zimmerman Graf by Rabbi Jessica Zimmerman Graf October 30, 2025October 30, 2025
Detail of The Creation of the Sun and the Moon by Francisco de Holanda,
Posted inTorah

Solar corrections to the lunar calendar demonstrate the wisdom of our ancestors

Rabbi Jessica Zimmerman Graf by Rabbi Jessica Zimmerman Graf July 24, 2025July 24, 2025
God took the Jewish people out of Egypt to change their inner lives, which is far harder than crossing a sea.


Concept art of Moses splitting the Red Sea in "The Prince of Egypt."
Posted inTorah

The Exodus transformed us into a people who could make our own choices

Rabbi Jessica Zimmerman Graf by Rabbi Jessica Zimmerman Graf April 17, 2025April 17, 2025
"Abraham and the Three Angels" by James Tissot, ca. 1900
Posted inTorah

What happens when your compassion wanes at the wrong time?

Rabbi Jessica Zimmerman Graf by Rabbi Jessica Zimmerman Graf November 14, 2024November 14, 2024
"Moses Forbids the People to Follow Him" by James Tissot, ca. 1900 (The Jewish Museum)
Posted inTorah

Know where you came from — and what choices you made to get here

Rabbi Jessica Zimmerman Graf by Rabbi Jessica Zimmerman Graf August 8, 2024August 8, 2024
San Francisco's Marina District was hit hard by the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. (Photo/Eve Fraser-Corp via Flickr CC BY-NC 2.0)
Posted inOpinion

Like us, ancient Israelites divided time into ‘before’ and ‘after’ trauma

Rabbi Jessica Zimmerman Graf by Rabbi Jessica Zimmerman Graf May 2, 2024
From an engraving of throwing cakes to children on Simchat Torah by Johann Leusden in "Philologus Hebræo-Mixtus," Utrecht, 1657
Posted inTorah

Two more holidays, and then we start our annual cycle anew

Rabbi Jessica Zimmerman Graf by Rabbi Jessica Zimmerman Graf October 5, 2023
"Moses Pleading with Israel" by Providence Lithograph Company, ca. 1907
Posted inTorah

Is the entire Torah an effort to explain this single line?

Rabbi Jessica Zimmerman Graf by Rabbi Jessica Zimmerman Graf August 17, 2023

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