I grew up listening to Allen Sherman’s records, and they’re as funny to me today as they were back in the 60s. One song, that I discovered as an adult, is called “Good Advice.” In it, he cites a man named Otis who had invented a room that “goes side to side.” Sherman...
Sam prays for years to win the lottery, and it never happens. As time goes on, his prayers to God become more fervent, until finally, a heavenly voice booms, “Sam, meet me halfway, buy a ticket.” Ba dump bump. It seems like this week’s Torah reading, Beshallach, is an...
It’s really hard to be wrong, to have regrets, to be on the “losing” side of something. Making (and acknowledging) mistakes is also hard, if not harder. When I’m knitting, and realize there’s a mistake in the piece, perhaps several rows back, I often dig in and...
Darkness and light are motifs that have been around since, well, the beginning. Coming as it does at the darkest time of the year in the northern hemisphere, Hanukkah–the Festival of Lights–acknowledges the very human desire and need for illumination. If the heavenly...
What happens when two things of equal importance are put before you? How do you decide which to focus on? Our Torah reading this week, Vayera, opens with just such a dilemma, “The LORD appeared to [Abraham] by the terebinths of Mamre; he was sitting at the entrance of...
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