Blessing My Bended Knees-A Poem
This past week, I participated in a Ritualwell class with Alden Solovy on “Writing From One Word of Torah.” I distilled 3 stream-of-consciousness prompts on the word “Baruch/Berekh,” the root of which can mean “blessing’ and “knee, into this poem.
The Eshet Hayil In Our Lives
An email from My Jewish Learning about “A Woman of Valor” prompted me to pivot the next evening’s planned adult learning session to looking at these 22 verses from Mishlei, the Book of Proverbs. These verses comprise a song called Eshet Chayil…
Live Long and Prosper?
Rabbi Yehoshua ben Korha has a point; at what point does life become wearying? When does the joy go out of our lives, and when does a long life become a too-long life? Or from the perspective of a younger person, like Rabbi Yehuda haNasi, has the elder become irrelevant?
Ending Hanukkah, A Ritual
when a lit candle is used to light other candles, that first candle’s flame doesn’t diminish; rather each flame becomes whole unto itself.
Sukkah and the Olympics, How Does The Wind Blow?
How can reading something in the Talmud, from 2,000 years ago, give us insight into how we look at things today.
Latest Sermons
Kedoshim: How Are We Holy?
What does it mean to be kadosh, “holy,” or “sanctified”? I always used to think it meant “elevated,” or somehow, “better than” something or someone else. Dictionary.com would certainly have you believe that, but the Hebrew word, kadosh, means “to be set apart.” A...
Achare Mot: “I Can DO It Myself!”
Photo credit: Flickr.com, Kenny Holston, Whiteman fitness center Achare Mot: "I Can Do It Myself!" Years ago Joan Collins did a commercial for Jack LaLane Fitness Centers. She asked her butler to bring her her shoes and gym bag. When he asked if perhaps he should...
Life: The Luck Of The Draw
Image credit: pinging.com A few weeks ago, towards the end of Talmud Tractate Megilla, I wrote about various sages in the Talmud who lived to “old age,” whatever that meant 2,000 years ago, and to what they attributed their longevity. I noted my chuckle over one...
Latest Midrash HaZak
Ki Tissa: Aging and Reconciliation
Image Credit: circunda-tederosas.blogspot Ki Tissa: Aging and Reconciliation by Anita Silvert “When the people saw that Moses was so long coming down from the mountain, the people gathered against Aaron and said to him, ‘Come, make us a god who shall go before us, for...
Re’eh: See the Blessing
Image: Nahant Sunrise from image.org Re’eh: See the Blessing by Dr. Nechama Liss-Levinson The portion Re’eh, chock full of statutes and commandments, begins with the word re’eh, sometimes translated as “behold,” but I prefer the translation “see.” And what are we...
Yitro: Ink Blots On The Paper Of Life
ch, Beshalach, Yitro: Ink Blots On The Paper Of Life Rabbi Tamar Crystal Elisha Ben Abuya taught: “When a person studies as a child to what may he be compared? To ink written on fresh paper. When a person studies when he is old to what may he be compared? To ink...
Latest Personal Blogs
Blessing My Bended Knees-A Poem
This past week, I participated in a Ritualwell class with Alden Solovy on "Writing From One Word of Torah." I distilled 3 stream-of-consciousness prompts on the word "Baruch/Berekh," the root of which can mean "blessing' and "knee, into this poem. Blessing my bended...
The Eshet Hayil In Our Lives
Photo: publicdomainpictures.net The Eshet Hayil In Our Lives An email from My Jewish Learning about “A Woman of Valor” prompted me to pivot the next evening’s planned adult learning session to looking at these 22 verses from Mishlei, the Book of Proverbs. These verses...
Live Long and Prosper?
By Oklahoma Heritage Association, Gaylord-Pickens Museum - Author, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=25656727 Live Long and Prosper? January 5, 2022 began the third year of the seven and a half-year cycle of Daf Yomi, the practice of...