These weeks leading to Rosh Hashanah – especially amidst the tumult of the world – call us to seek and find the good in each other, and make good on our own call to be our best selves. Easier said than done. The tumult of the world dredges up sediment of fear, anxiety, anger, powerlessness… Continue reading The Appetite for Hate

It's summer, and 58% of Americans are likely to take vacations – some by plane, most by car. Vacations have countless motivations: visit friends or family, change scenery, change pace, have fun, relax, seek adventure, (re)kindle romance, find ourselves or get away from it all. Sometimes vacations work their magic: we return refreshed – at… Continue reading How to take a real vacation

We all have "sacred cows" – ideas, habits and commitments seemingly so core to who we are that we might hold them nearly inviolate.  Often they seem like the bedrock of our lives – how we know ourselves, how we want others to know us, how we shape our identity, and how we arrange our… Continue reading Our Sacred Cows

It's been awhile since I heard the word "pure" except to describe olive oil and Ivory soap – maybe also mountain spring water and 24 carat gold, but not much else. What sense we have of "pure" concerns just a few things, and mainly to mean a lack of impurity. A circular definition – "pure… Continue reading What’s Pure?

Some values are timeless, but how we express them can change over time. This week's Torah portion (Tzav) uplifts this idea through the example of how we handle shame and guilt. What Torah calls us to do – uplift shame and guilt – often isn't our first impulse. Torah expresses this truth with "sacrifices," the… Continue reading Your Holy Uplift

"Democracy," quipped Winston Churchill, "is the worst form of government except for all the others." This week's Torah portion (Ki Tisa) couldn't agree more. While awaiting Moses' return from atop Sinai, the people felt afraid and abandoned. Seized with fear, they rebelled against the Ten Commandments they just received: they wanted Aaron to make them… Continue reading Smashing Success: Democracy and Discontent

There's the old TV game show "Truth or Consequences," and the New Mexico city by that name, originally named for the eponymous NBC radio show. But how about "Truth and Consequences"? This week's Torah portion (Mishpatim, or "Judgments") is named for Torah's first major description of civil and criminal laws. On the heels of Sinai,… Continue reading Truth and Consequences

Einstein's Theory of Relativity and this week's Torah portion (Bo, or "Come!") – named for a word seemingly gone wrong – have something in common. First the Torah, then the Theory: "God said to Moses: Come to Pharaoh, for I freighted his heart and the heart of his court, so I can display My signs among them, and… Continue reading Coming and Going

David Bowie's 1972 classic touched a national nerve. Change is inevitable: we can only "turn and face the strain." (Others quote Bowie's refrain as "turn and face the strange," to similar effect.) Soon the 45th President of the United States will take office amidst social and political upheaval. Many either acclaim or fear this changing of… Continue reading Ch- Ch- Ch- Changes

If you're a dreamer (we all are), read on: this post is about you. "I have a dream." With these words, dreamer Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. propelled the American nation along the arc that bends toward justice. With these same words, in this week's Torah portion (Vayeishev), dreamer Joseph propelled Jewish history along the… Continue reading I Have a Dream

The human mind is a marvelous machine – always scanning and planning. Among the mind's "programs" is worst-case thinking, wrestling to assert control over potential threats. Maybe you do this: I know I do. A delayed diagnosis could be an incurable disease! A work mistake could cost my job! An encounter could ruin a relationship! If we're honest, we might… Continue reading Wrestling in the Dark Night

If you or someone you love ever suffered, you probably asked why. "Why me" is a constant echo in history and the human psyche – and it doesn't matter whether the echo is spoken aloud or asked silently within. The human heart wants to know why, even if the mind knows that there's no knowing… Continue reading The Cosmic “Why Me?”

  Odds are good that you know your names. You received one or more names at birth, and maybe you changed name at marriage, divorce or another formative moment. Maybe you also have one or more nicknames, private terms of endearment with a partner or friend, childhood monikers, familial titles ("Mom," "Uncle," "Grandma"), and professional… Continue reading What’s in a Name?

Amidst hopes for a good and sweet new year, this week's Torah portion (Ha'azinu) between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur brings the swan song of Moses as he prepares to die. It's no coincidence that these two poignant moments come together now. In a sense, Moses' preparation to die evokes our own. Each year, tradition… Continue reading Balancing the Scales