Art & Culture / 17 Aug 2022
Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah Is At The Nexus Of Faith And Doubt
The song reminds us that, despite life’s challenges and brokenness, we can still choose to send praise into the universe.
Breaking False Dichotomies, Hold Dualities Together, Inspiring Story, News & Politics, This Week In Wisdom / 15 Aug 2022
A Gnawing Feeling
The FBI was the enemy, and now it is a potential savior.
Soul Hack, Spirituality & Faith, This Week In Wisdom, Weekly Parsha / 12 Aug 2022
From Heartbreak to Hope
Blessings for First Steps.
Daily Life, Grief & Coping, Inspiring Story, Weekly Parsha / 11 Aug 2022
Cross and Not Crossing
The translation that “God was cross with me” seems most thoughtful and sensitive to the resonance between Hebrew and English.
Art & Culture / 08 Aug 2022
The Lamentation of Venice: Hearing Shylock on Tisha B’Av
The antisemitism of Shakespeares’ “Merchant of Venice”.
Book Club, Historic Profiles, Interviews With Wise People Of Today, Longform, Longform, This Week In Wisdom, Uncategorized |
November 23, 2021
Inviting Kids To Make History By Reading About Hanukkah: A conversation with Emily Singer, author of Gilgul
Emily Singer is the author of a new book — one receiving good attention in many quarters, including a warm review in a recent edition of the Jerusalem Post. The book is called Gilgul, and while it’s intended for middle-school-age readers, and would make a great Hanukkah gift for same, it carries a message we could all use — one combining great pride in ethnic/national/religious identity and genuinely embracing the idea that each particularity must connect with something larger than itself. I had the opportunity to “sit down” with Emily, despite the......
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Compassion and Empathy, Grief & Coping, Longform, This Week In Wisdom, Uncategorized |
November 19, 2021
The Great Forgiving
This week’s Torah portion always gets me in the gut. It’s the story of Jacob returning to his long-estranged brother Esau, from whom he fled 20 years beforehand after betraying Esau by stealing his birthright and blessing. Now, so much time has passed, Jacob doesn’t even know Esau anymore. We can tell this because Jacob takes great pains to send gifts ahead, to prepare for Esau’s wrath but hope for his forgiveness, to plan for any eventual outcome. Jacob can’t anticipate Esau’s reaction. Despite Jacob’s worry that Esau’s still violently mad about......
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News & Politics |
November 18, 2021
I Protested Antisemitism At The School Board And Nearly Was Removed
Hate is spreading at school boards across the country....
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Bring The Sacred Down To Earth, Compassion and Empathy, Inspiring Story, Longform, Uncategorized |
November 11, 2021
And I Did Not Know…
“I GOT ONE!” With the recent announcement by the CDC that the Pfizer vaccine has been approved for children ages 5-11, my wife Lizzie scrambled to find available appointments for our two oldest children. She refreshed the browser each time the search came up empty, going through the painstaking process of inputting their information multiple times until – finally – she landed appointments for both of them. I can’t quite explain how cathartic it felt to see the confirmation screen with their names on it, to know that we would soon reach......
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Inspiring Story, Longform, Relationships & Family, Uncategorized |
November 05, 2021
Esau and Zero-Sum Thinking
The first question most of us ask about elections is, “Who won?” Whether it’s for President or Town Clerk, Senator or Mayor, Congressperson or School Board member, we often have a preferred candidate going in, and feel either excited or disappointed, depending on the result. In short, we view elections as a zero-sum game: there’s a winner, and there’s a loser, and that’s it. But elections are not the same as politics — in the words of former Governor Mario Cuomo, politicians campaign in poetry, but govern in prose. The goal of......
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Our polarized world is filled with the noise of half-truths and crying out for practical solutions. This year, may we find a way to receive the full wisdom, and discover the solutions we need, together....
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Bring The Sacred Down To Earth, Inspiring Story, Longform |
October 27, 2021
Abraham’s Conflicted Love
We live in an era of punditry. Everyone has an interpretation of events, yet few of us stop to understand what actually might have happened. Interpretation occludes understanding, as tenuously grand conclusions occlude more modest insights that are built upon a firmer footing. Similar critique might be applied to how many of us approach the founder of the Jewish people, Abraham. To venerate the origins of Judaism itself, we conclude at the outset that he was a moral superhero – all the while deemphasizing a personal life riddled with painful complexity. We......
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Spirituality & Faith |
October 27, 2021
Honoring The Legacy Of The Tree Of Life Synagogue Murder Victims
The truest memorial is the one that is ongoing and changing......
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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.
