Today I had the honor of hearing someone speak about a grief that cannot be spoken. A grief so profound, so enduring, so heavy, that words cannot do it justice. So how did I hear her speak about this grief? Through poetry. Jewish tradition teaches that words that come from the heart enter the heart. […]
Spirituality
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 […]
Be a blessing
In parshat Lech L’cha God commanded Abraham to leave his home, his father’s house, and the land of his birth. He also commanded Abraham: v’heyeh bracha (“Be a Blessing). Here’s a song and a poem. The song is from my album, “Be a Blessing” and the poem was just easier to write than prose. Here’s the song: V’heyeh Bracha […]
I want to be able to say God’s name
I was checking my email when the front desk called. There was a young man who wanted to speak with me. Of course, send him back. A 5th grade boy walked into my office, clearly stirred. What’s up? After a moment… He asked, How can I become holy enough to say God’s real name? This […]
Love without reward
Here’s a quote I found that is attributed (I hope rightly) to the Jewish/French philosopher Emmanuel Levinas: “Faith is not a question of the existence or non-existence of God. It is believing that love without reward is valuable.” Recently I’ve been thinking a lot about spirituality. For the purposes of this post let’s say that […]
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 […]