How can we best celebrate Mother’s Day–and Father’s Day for that matter? We know that a “Day” in the course of a year means little if its values are not lived many other days of the year. We also know that parent-child relationships are often quite complicated in ways that a card can never capture. A healthy parent-child relationship ought to serve as a foundation…
It is Passover, a Jewish holiday with so many meanings and also designed around questions. On this Easter Sunday in the middle of Passover which itself is in the middle of Ramadan, I wish all who celebrate a Happy Easter, a Chag Sameachand/or Moadim L’Simcha, and a Ramadan Mubarak. May your happiness and joy come from the celebrations and from finding yourself in your tradition…
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…
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?…
“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 look at the page…
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…
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…
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 changed, and the lights…
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…
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 moment. Psalm 90:12 implores,…
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 whole entities crucial to an intricate mosaic…