It is Passover. At seder tables last night, Jews recounted the story of the Exodus with all sorts of symbols, songs, and sacred rituals. While the seder is designed to be interactive and to have the leader respond with the story to questions prompted by its unusual features, there is a key text that serves as the basis for the telling (and often gets read…
Thursday night, I dressed as a frog. I was channeling my namesake Jeremiah and the bullfrog from the song “Joy to the World.” In celebrating the Jewish holiday of Purim which commemorates the story in the Book of Esther, I was trying to capture the “light and joy, rejoicing and glory” (Esther 8:16). It worked; whatever had been weighing me down was temporarily lifted. I…
It was a team effort. Everyone was locked in. Each leader credited someone other than himself. And somehow, we the fans did not just know it, we felt it. The circle was wide; it was held tight and yet it fit everyone in. The Eagles’ championship victory was not only domination on the field, but it was also transcendent joy around the region. Even without…
It’s the year 2025. Over the years, I have tried different ways of taking stock of life, from typical New Year’s resolutions to reviews of the past year’s meaningful moments and from scrolling through photos of New Year’s Eve over the years to looking closely at the faces around my table. This year has me focused on what it means to create memories. Memories are…
December arrived very quickly this year and, with it, the countdown to the holidays. I am used to digesting Thanksgiving before turning my attention to the coming combinations of dark days and decorative lights, cold weather and warm joy. In a way, I am also used to this season reminding me of all that is beyond my control and consequently of the need to express…
We all need guardian angels – someone to look after us, to be with us, and to keep us going where we need to go. When my children were young, their bedtime routine included a recitation of a Jewish bedtime prayer. After reciting the Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4-9), I adapted a traditional prayer text to say, “May God’s angels, Michael on your right, Gavriel on your…
How do we go on? As a new Jewish year moves from the introspection and accounting of the High Holy Days into the coming harvest festival, how do we find hope when so much of last year’s hopes were broken? War and global conflict are inescapable news. Devastation from natural disasters hits harder and comes again faster. Politics and media are full of bitter division.…
What happens when you hear an alarm? Does your world narrow into the urgency of now and its attendant worries? Does your world expand as you open your eyes to a new day with new possibilities? Do you do your best to hit snooze until another alarm sounds? This past week, my son begged me to let him take a shofar (a ram’s horn) to…
In times of disappointment or despair, Jewish tradition offers tools for resilience. Sometimes, those tools do better than get us out of a rut and instead inspire us to take action to make the world a better place. These tools are front and center this week on the Jewish calendar and in the news. From last week through to this coming Tuesday, the Jewish calendar…
My team recently made sun catchers together. We patiently added paint to our frames in patterns that pleased us. While doing so, we chatted amiably, and our bodies relaxed. Towards the end of our time, I noted that there was something very Jewish about paying attention to the sun just now: we are in the Hebrew month of Tammuz (based on a lunar cycle) during…
Judaism is faith-based, but not based on faith. At least, it is not based solely on faith. We would not talk about the Jewish people, Jewishness, Jewish identity, or antisemitism if Judaism was only about beliefs or tenets and their consequent behaviors. Rather, Judaism is multifaceted and multilayered, especially given its survival over millennia. As we approach the holiday of Shavuot this week, it matters…