Writing plays a major role in how I make sense of the world. Writing allows intuitions to evolve into ideas. It allows the time and space for complicated thoughts and feelings to express themselves in ways that honor their complexity. Writing takes our inner world and makes it available to others. It also allows us to look back on past thoughts, feelings, ideas, and sentiments by preserving them in an accessible format. While much of my writing is personal and therefore not available online or elsewhere, I have maintained several active blogs over the years. You can find those posts here, searchable in a variety of formats. If any of these spark a thought or conversation please drop me a line.
Recent Posts
Life Lessons 12/5/25
It’s good to know who to ask when you need an expert opinion. You never know when you’re gonna need some crazy glue. Stress, bringing people together since the dawn of man. Collective punishment never achieves the desired outcome. The…
Life Lessons 12/4/25
Our laughter is like our fingerprint, unique and universal at the same time. Accomplishing something before the sun rises is a great way to start your day. When inspiration strikes, be ready. Seek the services of people who take pride…
Life Lessons 12/3/25
We come by our distortions honestly, at least most of the time. Knowing how, when, and where to seek refuge is a good life skill. Most of us are going through pretty much the same thing. To solve a problem…
Life Lessons 12/2/25
It’s good to encounter, at least occasionally, the unglorious side of things. It’s reassuring when you take a closer look and are impressed by what you see. As witty as you are, there’s always someone equally witty or wittier. Scamming…
Life Lessons 12/1/25
Why do we hide our light? Why do we choose to ignore the light that shines on us? Do it out of love. The opposite of endless flow is constipation. If a book makes you laugh out loud then it…
Life Lessons 11/20/25
If you don’t know, and think you want to know, it’s a good idea to make sure you want to know before finding out. Sometimes old and in the way is a real thing. You may not always be right,…
Life Lessons 11/19/25
The fact that profound disappointment builds resilience doesn’t make it any easier to swallow. Not a new insight, but the hardest part is often getting started. Find someone way more knowledgeable than you with the heart of a teacher. Then…
Life Lessons 11/18/25
When it’s your fault don’t give in to the temptation to blame everyone else. If you know you do better by sticking to the routine, don’t self sabotage. Yesterday’s playbook can only get you so far. There’s still no better…
Life Lessons 11/13/25
11/13/25 Somewhere between most and all behaviors are explicable if sufficiently contemplated. Some conversations birth songs, others don’t. To feel strong is a wonderful thing. If you’re reading an ancient text in our modern world, then that text likely has…
Life Lessons 11/7/25
Sometimes in trying to make it better we make it worse. Expertise is a double-edged sword. It’s good to have wise people. When life sends someone your way, take the time to get to know them. Learn how to accept…
Life Lessons 11/6/25
The time will get filled, so fill it with things that nourish you. Take the extra minute. How does it feel to be surrounded by angels? The most radical thing we can do is bring people together. Much of life…
Life Lessons 11/5/25
20 years is a long time and not a long time. Politics is a high stakes game played primarily by delusional individuals who are unwittingly controlled by unknown and unacknowledged forces. Crisp morning air can make you feel alive. When…
Life Lessons 11/4/25
Transcendence can be accessed through simplicity. Put it in a song and it just might outlive you. Let life unfold naturally, you’ll be happier that way. Read. Vote. Be gracious. Seek the affection you need in order to live with…
Life Lessons 10/22/25
Sometimes the clearest way to realize that you value something is to find it suddenly taken away. Sloth is an unattractive quality. Assume wisdom is all around and you will surely be confirmed in your assumption. For some, protocol is…
Life Lessons 10/20/25
A goal is a dream operationalized and held accountable. At least some of tomorrow can be determined or set in motion today. When the weather changes, so do we. Make sure you have at least one person with whom you…
Life Lessons 10/6/25
Hope is a stubborn thing. We can’t greet another person until we’ve gotten acquainted with ourselves. Laughter is holy. It’s hard to do much else when basic functionality is compromised. Better a clean no than a dirty yes. Have your…
Life Lessons 9/9/25
46 feels a lot like 45. Strive to conduct oneself with whatever measure of impeccability one can achieve and then strive to go further. Incurring unnecessary penalties is a surefire losing strategy. We yearn to know and understand. Embrace every…
Life Lessons 9/4/25
9/4/25 Take the meeting. Listen more. Appreciate little moments of blessing. Prepare for the fact that time will only continue to feel like it is moving more quickly. Transitions are hard, especially when you love and find comfort in the…
Life Lessons, 8/11/25- First Day of School
We are cyclical beings, also linear, but definitely cyclical. There will always be someone who doesn’t get the memo. Binaries help us structure our world until we are ready to move beyond that structure. How we look and how we…
Life Lessons, 7/7/25
Too much AC and too little AC both present their challenges. Reentry is hard. Most powerful things are powerfully neutral meaning they can be used for great good and great harm. It is profound to experience oneself as of little…
Life Lessons, 7/4/25 Sci-Tech
Even hope can become pathological. The only way to learn a language is to use it. Walk until the songs come. And when they do, let them. Golf carts are cool. We can be one another’s alarm clocks. There will…
Life Lessons- 7/3/25 URJ Sci-Tech, Byfield, Mass
There are only so many characters out there. When an answer you commonly give is then given to you when you are the person asking and you experience the answer as dissatisfying… Some things are meant to be kept simple. …
Continue Reading Life Lessons- 7/3/25 URJ Sci-Tech, Byfield, Mass
Life Lessons, 6/26/25- Sci-Tech
6/26/25- Sci Tech When in doubt, choose humor. When choosing humor, choose which kind(s) of humor. Get a second opinion. Or don’t. Both paths have their merits. God clearly has a sense of humor. We are evidence of that sense…
Life Lessons 6/25/25- URJ 6 Points Sci-Tech Academy, Byfield, Mass
6/25/25- Sci Tech Human beings will never cease to be thrilled by the prospect of watching things explode. You can’t predict when you’ll end up in a scholarly conversation about Ancient Near Eastern Languages with a camper who knows far…
Continue Reading Life Lessons 6/25/25- URJ 6 Points Sci-Tech Academy, Byfield, Mass
Life Lessons 6/22/25 Part 2- Boston
6/22/25 Lists are helpful, clarifying, and sometimes obligating and vulnerable in their simplicity. True and longstanding friendship is one of the most recognizable of human relationships. Service matters. It was never about the pizza. Sometimes not having a plan is…
Life Lessons 6/21-22/25 New Haven
6/22/25- New Haven Sometimes you pay for it, sometimes it’s free. As is often the case, there are layers upon layers. Even a staircase can be a work of art. It’s possible to live in a world where a series…
Life Lessons, 6/19/25
While human beings are, inherently, category defying entities, there’s no denying that some people are wonderfully adept at fulfilling certain roles and capacities with an almost angelic eloquence. Our ability to pay attention is a superpower often squandered and given…
Life Lessons 6/18/25
6/18/25 To do one thing well and with the fullness of our being allows us to connect with others who have done the same, regardless of what that one thing may be. You can return, but you cannot go back. …
Life Lessons 6/6/25
There’s always a better way. It’s ok to be predictable. Our bodies are very effective communicators. Relationships built on convenience and usury will inevitably implode. To witness a loved one thriving is an incomparable feeling. It’s wonderful to be among…
Life Lessons 6/3/25
Living in a land of no truth is perilous. Eventually we will all be crushed and left for dust. Barring tremendous personal and/or communal effort to make it otherwise, to see the present is to see the future. There is…
Life Lessons 6/2/25- Shavuot
Part of the aging process is that sometimes gradually, sometimes slowly, choices made by our ancestors become increasingly intelligible to us. Violence hates peace. To be a Jew is to perpetually ask, consciously or unconsciously, a series of distinctive questions. …
Life Lessons 5/23/25
There are times when seriousness is required. The ability to facilitate crowd control in a sacred setting is a worthwhile one to cultivate if you find yourself tasked with crowd control in a sacred setting. It’s okay for people to…
Life Lessons 5/22/25
Music heals, but there are always new wounds. Listening leads to understanding. Camera lenses reveal and conceal. When people show you who they are, believe them. If in their showing, you find yourself loving them more, rejoice. There is so…
Life Lessons, 5/21/25
There’s an invisible cord connecting all being. Sometimes you have to pause to honor the sound of the wind as it rustles the leaves. There are moments when life is better lived unscripted. The tyranny of options is real. To…
Life Lessons 5/9/25
Each moment comes and then it’s gone. Someone will always see things differently than you. Community is one of the most powerful forces we humans have. We don’t know where we are in the story– beginning, middle, end etc. Some…
Life Lessons 5/7/25
Loss is part of life, so too is fear of loss. We are relational beings, the drive to forge connections is among the most powerful of human impulses. It feels good to parent well, even if it isn’t always possible. …
Life Lessons 5/1/25 (Yom Ha’Atzmaut)
Even more than comfort, there’s often tremendous joy and beauty in the familiar. There’s a reason the wheel hasn’t been reinvented. We presume to see others more clearly than they see themselves, when in fact we often see others and…
Life Lessons 4/30/35 (Yom HaZikaron)
Whether we know it or not, we are all actively defining our legacies in each and every moment. Whether we acknowledge it or not, we are the direct beneficiaries of someone else’s profound sacrifice. Whether we can see it or…
Life Lessons 4/28/25
There’s an element of existential chutzpah when it comes to making future plans. The right information, presented in the right way, can help mitigate anxiety. Excitement can sometimes register as a lack of respect even when that excitement is actually…
Life Lessons, 4/25/25
Family is complicated. We are learning how to be human. Some wisdom can be imparted from one person to another, some can’t. Anyone who can impart wisdom to another person deserves the honorific: teacher. Intent and intention matter. Once a…
Life Lessons 4/22/25
A past commitment to growth, honored, is now a real and present blessing. Everything needs to be taught, even if it is already known. A room once frigid can quickly become filled with warmth. Children seem to have answers to…
Life Lessons 4/21/25
Alaska is cold in April. Believing otherwise is a perilous endeavor. Operational aspects of any organization are best when they are undetectable by the customer. It’s best to build from the ground up, upon a solid foundation. We’re one choice…
Life Lessons 4/9/25
It’s good to be free. How you define the opposite of “free” tells you a lot about what you mean when you say you’re free. Practice takes practice. Accounting for one’s blessings can be uncomfortable at times. A guitar is…
Life Lessons, 3/19/25
God is the greatest mystery and the simplest thing. Behind all that’s good a spirit of love. To sit in silence is a great skill. There’s elegance in a thoughtful plan well executed. Right now there is someone praying, striving…
Life Lessons 3/6/25
Boredom is an art and highly underrated. Sunshine and fresh air– always welcome, sometimes in short supply. Punctuality is a virtue, albeit not always possible. Just because you know you can doesn’t mean it’s not scary. It’s good to know…
Life Lessons 2/19/25
Love is the most powerful curriculum. Warning, as we likely know, it comes with heartbreak. A day that starts with song is a day that is headed in the right direction. Nothing awakens the teacher within more than a curious…
Life Lessons 1/17/25
Be a blessing. Be a blessing. Be a blessing. Be a blessing. Be a blessing. That is all…
Blessing for the Day
Wake up, awaken live with heart speak wisely open your eyes listen well walk with purpose pay attention be generous be kind accept blessings appreciate the good do something with this life
A Blessing for the Day
May you wake up rested. May your day be filled with meaning. May you do something that brings you joy. May something unexpected and good occur either to you or through you. May you hear music. May you find a…
Life Lessons, December 2024
Everything counts. Ideas are powerful and should be deployed with wisdom. Few worthwhile aims can be achieved through force alone. More often than not, things will manifest in their own time and according to their own schedule. The things we…