Jewish tradition teaches, “Rejoice in your holy days, and may your holy days be joyous.” As it turns out, Judaism has dozens of words that are all synonyms for “celebrate.” Simcha, rina, ditza, oneg… These are just a few. We learn a lot about a culture from its language. That Judaism has so many different ways of […]
Daily Life
How we honor
Jewish tradition teaches, “Who is worthy of honor? One who honors all creation.” How and what we honor says a lot about who we are. We live in a world that undervalues honor and that makes a caricature of honor. We undervalue honor by dishonoring almost everything: our selves, our communal institutions, our leaders– political […]
Life doesn’t always make sense
This week my synagogue community laid to rest a beloved member of our congregation– Marcia. The last time I saw Marcia wasn’t at Temple, but at Trader Joe’s. I was on my way out with the kids and she was on her way in. A true lover of children, Marcia immediately struck up a conversation […]
Things I learned in Arkansas
I just got home from a wonderful weekend serving as an artist and scholar in residence at Congregation B’nai Israel in Little Rock, Arkansas. Here are some things I learned and/or was reminded about myself, Arkansas, and life in general. 1) It’s good to meet new people. 2) It’s good to see new places. 3) […]
Universal blessing
Today marked the first farmer’s market of the season. As is customary with my family, we were there a few minutes before it opened. It was a sunny, cool, breezy morning. The farmer’s market was coming to life with activity. Then something unexpected happened. We were all asked to pause for an opening prayer. In […]
If the thunder don’t get ya…
One of the most interesting Grateful Dead tunes is “The Wheel.” It’s interesting musically and lyrically. It contains the lyric, “If the thunder don’t get ya then the lightning will.” Definitely a worldview expressed in that line! I thought of “The Wheel” last night when my family and I experienced an magnificent thunder storm while […]