Being Mindful Of Our Blessings
“You shall not behave the way we do here this day, everyone doing what they please.” Doesn’t this verse from Deuteronomy sound like a biblical version of a parent saying to a child, “you’re...
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Wrestling With The Sacred
This week’s Torah reading, Eikev, contains some familiar passages, such as the verse which forms the basis for Birkat haMazon, the blessing after meals: V’ahavta, v’savata u-vayrachta et Ado-nai Elo-heinu… “You will eat, you...
Care and Comfort
A devout Jew heard of another devout Jew asking his rabbi if he should fast during YK, due to a medical condition that required fluids and some food each day. “Rabbi,” the first one...
When Circumstances Overwhelm, from Jerusalem to Charlotte
This past Friday, thousands of Scouts from the US and abroad spent more time than they expected to at the American Airlines’ Terminal in Charlotte, NC. Delays at an airport are no surprise; it...
Gathering from the Fringes
V’asu la-hem tzitzit al canfei vig-deihem l’dorotam, v’natnu al tzitzit hakanaf p’til t’chelet. “And they shall make for themselves fringes on the corners of their garments for all generations to come, and they will...
Blessing Those Who Bless Us
This week’s Torah reading, Naso, begins with God instructing Moses to take a census of the Levites between the ages of 30 and 50, who are responsible for the maintaining and transporting the Mishkan,...
Holiness for Mortals
What does it mean to be kadosh, “holy”? I always thought it meant that someone or something that was “holy” was special–perhaps better than–a person or thing that wasn’t. I’m not sure I knew...
What Does a Soul Weigh?
As a rabbi and a Jew, the last thing I want to think about a week after Passover has ended–when I still haven’t finished putting away all the stuff–is Yom Kippur, but here we...
Tzara-at-More Than Skin Deep
I’m reading an interesting book right now, called Treat Me, Not My Age, by Dr. Mark Lachs, as part of a certificate program in Gerontology and Palliative Care. Any of us who have made...
Manna, Memory and Memento
This week’s Torah portion, Beshallach, begins with the Israelites crossing Yam Soof, the Red Sea (literally, the “Sea of Reeds”) and leaving Egypt behind. There are immediate difficulties, most specifically, a lack of water...
