I promise you that I expressed the wish to have that hour back. I expressed it in multiple ways from resenting the calculation to go to sleep early, the argument with the alarm clock that it had to be wrong, the fight with my body begging to keep its rhythms, and the disappointment at just how dark morning appeared just when it was recently getting sunny again. I ...
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Rabbinic Reflections: Praying for Victory
Posted by Rabbi Jeremy Winaker on February 12th, 2023
What makes a good prayer for the Eagles to win Superbowl LVII? Five years ago, I was lucky, and this reflection was due for publication after they won. I got to write about how to express gratitude. I have no recollection of the prayers before that game. So, I too, am faced with the question: What would make a good prayer for an Eagles victory? First, Judaism is ...
Rabbinic Reflections: A particular people
Posted by Rabbi Jeremy Winaker on January 8th, 2023
“Two Jews, three opinions,” so goes the adage, part inside joke, and part truism. If you have seen a page of the Talmud, it is layered with opinions from centuries of rabbis interpreting, disagreeing, and commenting on previous conversations. The differences of opinion on the page span not only opinions and generations but also cultures and continents. It is easy to ...
Rabbinic Reflections: Sleigh bells ring
Posted by Rabbi Jeremy Winaker on December 11th, 2022
Do you hear the sounds? Imagine what had once been the noisiest place in the region, bereft of its normal occupants, quiet in the wake of a war only just won, with a small number of victors searching and searching and searching. Occasionally those few would find a container only to discard it, moving on to look for another, until finally, finally, they found one with ...
Rabbinic Reflections: Friendship and faith
Posted by Rabbi Jeremy Winaker on November 13th, 2022
I have a hard time praying. In particular, I have a hard time praying alone. When I am with others, it is easier. When I lead services for others, I am often moved both by the liturgy and by spirit, occasionally excelling at prayer. Alone, though, I am likely to forget to pray or either stumble or race through it. Just in case prayer is not your thing often, like me, ...
Rabbinic Reflections: The purpose of power
Posted by Rabbi Jeremy Winaker on September 11th, 2022
What does the New Year celebrate? The Jewish New Year, Rosh HaShanah, is two weeks away. As part of Judaism’s Days of Awe, it is rich in meaning, and interpreted in many ways throughout the ages. On this 9/11, those interpretations take on additional resonance. Tonight, my neighborhood will place luminaries along our sidewalks to remember the lives lost, the lives ...
Rabbinic Reflections: Life is full
Posted by Rabbi Jeremy Winaker on August 14th, 2022
Did you see John Moran’s glass olive in episode five of “Blown Away,” season three? It was not just gorgeous, it was immense. Granted the challenge was to make an oversized version of a real-life object, but his glass olive was so full of color and texture, including the pimento stuffed inside, also made of glass. The glass olive seemed to have more life than the ...
Rabbinic Reflections: Gaming time
Posted by Rabbi Jeremy Winaker on June 12th, 2022
Summertime is a different time. With graduations, step-up days, the shift from school to camp, taking vacations, and so much more, time counts differently. It is not just that there are more hours of the day, something in our mindset changes, too. For me, baseball becomes prominent, and something about the game resonates deeply with Jewish wisdom that speaks to this ...
Rabbinic Reflections: American and
Posted by Rabbi Jeremy Winaker on May 8th, 2022
Melting pot or tossed salad? I grew up when American society seemed to shift from thinking about itself as a melting pot where immigrant identities blended together with American culture, adding some flavor by contributing to a relatively homogeneous fondue. The shift was toward what was then called multiculturalism in which racial and ethnic identities were seen as ...
Rabbinic Reflections: Living Jews
Posted by Rabbi Jeremy Winaker on April 10th, 2022
Have you ever hidden a part of yourself? Maybe for a job interview or a date, you dressed up or put on your best self. Maybe in this increasingly polarized world, you held your tongue and kept your peace. I know I have, sometimes to the point of feeling like a chameleon to fit in. Listening to Jewish student interview Dara Horn about her book People Love Dead Jews ...
Rabbinic Reflections: Stepping back or backward
Posted by Rabbi Jeremy Winaker on January 9th, 2022
One step forward, one step backward. Is that the beginning of a total of two steps back? Or is it the beginning of a cha-cha? Robert Brault calls someone who thinks the latter an optimist. In thinking about so much of our world at this moment, especially with regard to the pandemic, I confess that, despite my usual optimism, I am much more in the two-steps-back camp. ...
