A few years ago my colleagues and I wrote an opening prayer for t’fila at The Davis Academy middle school. It starts with the line, “All I have to offer in prayer is myself.” We recite it every time our Middle School community gathers for t’fila, but what does it mean. On the one hand […]
Making room for Shabbat
Behold our dining room table: Tonight we pushed back some of the stuff of daily life to make room for Shabbat. Hence our dining room table is 1/2 Shabbat and 1/2 the stuff of daily life. Two kids, two jobs, Amazon prime, birthday party supplies, unpacking from recent Israel trip: the […]
Do you have a Torah to teach?
Between undergrad and rabbinical school I spent two years working at the Slifka Center for Jewish Life at Yale. I thought it wise to spend some time working in the Jewish community after college and before embarking on the path to officially becoming a rabbi. Every aspect of those two years was a blessing. One […]
Bamidbar– the wilderness and the word
This week’s Torah portion is Bamidbar. It’s the first portion of the Book of Numbers. Bamidbar means “wilderness.” For 40 years, the Israelites wandered both literally and metaphorically through the wilderness of Egypt on their way to Canaan. Today we do the same. We wander through the wilderness of uncertainty. We wander through the wilderness of […]
10 Things I saw in Israel that I hope to never forget
1) The sea turtle swimming off the shore of Rosh HaNikra. 2) The man playing violin for our kids in Tzfat. 3) The peacock, plumage on display, at Kibbutz Gonen. 4) The two UN soldiers somberly sipping coffee at Mt. Bental. 5) The baby Ibex on the road to Ein Avdat. 6) The carpentry in […]
Life Lessons– 2015 Israel Trip
One of the responsibilities I enjoy most in my role at The Davis Academy is leading our annual 8th grade Israel trip. I’ve literally just come home from the airport after two extraordinary weeks chaperoning 68 8th grade students along with several other colleagues. For a comprehensive chronicle of our experiences you can read my […]