Working as I do at Reform Jewish day school there’s a phenomenon I encounter pretty frequently. I’ve started calling it “the perspective gap.” The perspective gap exists whenever two perspectives are so vastly different that the two holders of those perspectives can’t see what the other person sees. Why has working at a Reform Jewish […]
3 things too many Jewish people get wrong about Judaism
There’s a disconnect between Jews and Judaism. As a rabbi it’s frustrating because I know, for a fact, that the disconnect is based in part of some common misunderstandings that Jews have about Judaism. Here are a few… 1. Judaism encourages questioning. Forget Jews and Judaism, a lot of people reject religion in general because they are […]
Rosh Hodesh Adar
We’ve just entered the Hebrew month of Adar. In a few weeks we’ll celebrate the holiday of Purim. Purim is one of Judaism’s most complicated and interesting holidays. But this post is about Adar. The Talmud teaches that the onset of the month of Adar means that our “joy should increase.” It’s nice to be […]
Voicemail
Not unlike the handwritten letter, voicemail is quickly becoming a thing of the past. Leaving voicemail (not to mention checking voicemail) is a cumbersome task. You’ve got to push a few buttons, wait a few seconds, and then endure the sound of the human voice, all the while wondering how said human voice is going […]
Igniting the Spark
I mentioned the other day that my colleague, Rabbi Dr. Michael Shire, and I co-led a session entitled, “Igniting the Spark: Adolescent Spirituality” at the recent NFTY Conference Youth Summit in Atlanta. The session title was inspired by the work of Peter Benson (of blessed memory). Here’s his TED Talk. It’s worth watching if you’re […]
Waking up with “wow”
Today our little guy (15 months) woke up around 5am as he typically does. And the first word that we heard echoing through the speaker of the baby monitor was, “Wow!” What if we all woke up with “wow” on our lips and in our hearts? The memory and the thought of it has kept […]