Spirituality & Faith / 25 Nov 2020
Thanksgiving Reminds Us Of The Value Of Interfaith Unity
The pandemic has reminded me that there is value in times where we rejoice together.
Art & Culture, Longform, Longform, This Week In Wisdom, Uncategorized / 24 Nov 2020
Thanksgiving, Klezmer and The Ethics of Appropriation
The rise of Klezmer has many reasons, and they differ amongst other things, not only by identity but by geography.
Grief & Coping / 23 Nov 2020
How Thanksgiving During A Pandemic Is Teaching Me Gratitude
What the pandemic has taught me about gratitude.
Building New Identities / 17 Nov 2020
3 Lessons I Learned From Being A Black Kindergarten Teacher In China
How a positive attitude transformed a challenging situation.
Art & Culture / 12 Nov 2020
Ilan Stavans Reflects On His New Anthology
An interview with Ilan Stavans on his newly released anthology, “And We Came Outside and We saw the Stars Again. “
News & Politics, Wisdom Warehouse |
October 16, 2013
When We the People Don’t Vote, We Don’t Have a Voice
Whatever one’s politics, it is pretty clear we have a dysfunctional government in which partisanship and party lines trumps compromise. ?It’s easy to blame politicians, to judge their motivations, but where is our own responsibility? Where are “We the People” in all of this? The fact is relatively few of us vote – less than 60% in presidential years and only 40% in midterms – which, makes us 120th of 169 countries on voter turnout. If we don’t vote and only those who are the most passionate and ideological do – especially......
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There has long been the cultural stereotype that children reject their parent’s taste in music. I certainly did.? I eschewed my parent’s symphonic classical music and operas for The Grateful Dead, Crosby Stills Nash & Young, Dylan, The Stones, The Who, The Doors, The Beatles. Classic rock – there wasn’t anything better. Today, however, I’m not sure this stereotype rings as true anymore. My two daughters, both in their 20s, were visiting home recently, and I was struck by their diverse tastes in music. They like – and regularly listen to –......
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Columbus Day 2013 is officially observed Monday, October 14th, and like the old comedian Rodney Dangerfield used to say about himself, “it don’t get no respect” – at least not much, which is a shame.? While all but 3 states recognize this federal holiday, it has lost almost all significance to most Americans other than those of Italian descent who celebrate Christopher Columbus’ Italian heritage. That’s a shame, as there is much about the Columbus story to celebrate, whether we judge him to be a hero or a villain. There is plenty......
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Inspiring People, Wisdom Warehouse |
October 11, 2013
What Makes a Teacher Great – Remembering Rabbi Ovadia Yosef
When nearly one million people attend a teacher’s funeral, as happened this week in Jerusalem, one can’t help but pay attention. Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, was a cultural, spiritual, intellectual and even political phenomenon. ?A former chief rabbi of Israel, the?spiritual leader of the Sephardic ultra-Orthodox Shas party, and a teacher revered across many ethnic and religious borders, he?was?buried this week?in the largest funeral in Israel’s history. ?His enormous popularity can teach us so much about what it means to be a great teacher and how we can find the great teachers we......
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When was the last time you had really good dinner conversation with family or friends? Conversation that was not interrupted by the many ways our devices have a hold on us: the compelling ping calling us to a text or an email, the insatiable desire to check our Facebook page, tweet a thought, take a photo, or Google anything.? A conversation that was more than just a breezy catch up, one that was spirited and smart and made you think in some new way and become more connected to someone because of......
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Daily Life, Wisdom Warehouse |
October 09, 2013
Does The Road to Wisdom Start With the Journey or the Destination
Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote, “To finish the moment, to find the journey’s end in every step of the road, to live the greatest number of good hours, is wisdom.” Making the journey as interesting as the destination sounds great, and there are some great tips in this article here. Ultimately though, when I think about this article in the context of Emerson’s quote, I wonder if it’s more about who we are in the inside than what we do or see on the outside, that determines whether we succeed at making......
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News & Politics, Wisdom Warehouse |
October 08, 2013
New Movie Wadjda Sparks Reflection on Gender Equality
In this week’s Week in Wisdom, our weekly round up of what we’re reading and watching, I shared the trailer for the film Wadjda, a compelling film – one of those films you wake up thinking about the next morning.? It evokes so many questions and feelings. How will we in the West deal with the Arab Muslim version of feminism, which will be very different from ours? (Do a search for Arab – Muslim feminism and you will get close to 3 million results.) Can Muslim feminists reclaim their religion and......
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Inspiring People, Wisdom Warehouse |
October 07, 2013
10 Pieces of Wisdom from Desmond Tutu on his Birthday
Today – October 7 – is Nobel Peace Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s 82nd birthday.? I have the honor of serving on the Board of The Desmond Tutu Peace Foundation (DTPF)? whose mission is to help provide tools to create peace within, among and between people. Peace-making or what I call Peace-ing is an ongoing daily practice of attending to our own self and our ever widening webs of relationships that are our families, our communities and the diverse people of the world. Meeting Archbishop Tutu, hearing him speak and teach is an......
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Daily Life, Wisdom Warehouse |
October 04, 2013
Respecting Opposing Views: How to Look at the Other Side
Seems like every morning we wake to the overwhelming headlines of fighting, anger and polarization – there aren’t many conversations today that aren’t anchored by disagreement.? From Congress, the media, cocktail parties and even our own dinner tables we’re seemingly unable to see that “the other side’s” opinion may be based in some truth. Instead opposing views should immediately be dissed or destroyed. Remember the Aesop fable, “The Fox and the Grapes”? where a fox sees some high-hanging luscious grapes and wishes to eat them. The fox jumps and jumps but fails......
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News & Politics, Videos, Wisdom Warehouse |
October 04, 2013
Video: Brad Hirschfield on Washington’s Bad Example
From Odyssey Network’s Faith on the Record series: “This week the political fight in Washington came to a crisis point over the Affordable Care Act and the debt ceiling, leading to a shutdown of the federal government.? There is a lot we can learn from the bad example being set in our nation’s capital, says Rabbi Brad Hirschfield, President of CLAL, the National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership.? “When doctrine and dogma get in the way of addressing the real pain that people are feeling, something is terribly wrong.”” Odyssey Networks......
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Latest Video
Listen To The Names Of The Victims First
A video where Brad Hirschfield lists the victims names in the recent Orlando shooting. Because first we need to internalize a tragedy before we jump to speak.
