Hold Dualities Together, Longform, Longform, This Week In Wisdom, Uncategorized / 03 Dec 2021

Have We Stopped Dreaming?

In times of prolonged pain, be it emotional or physical, our world constricts and perspectives contract. We focus on the moment-to-moment or the day-to-day. Right now, this describes many of us. The waves of pandemic (and waves of variants) evoke waves of trauma that we have yet to process. We have long since put aside aspirations of self-actualization and seek merely to preserve aspects of ourselves from two years ago. Uncertainty of the future is itself a source of pain, and we have stopped dreaming about what it might hold – or what we could create. This week’s Torah portion, Parshat Miketz (Genesis 41:1 – 44:17) shows why dreams are so important – perhaps now more than ever. We read: After two years’ time, Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing by the Nile, when out of the Nile there came up seven cows, handsome and sturdy, and they grazed in the reed grass. But presently, seven other cows came up from the Nile close behind them, ugly and gaunt, and stood beside the cows on the bank of the Nile; and the ugly gaunt cows ate up the seven handsome sturdy cows.  And Pharaoh awoke. He fell asleep and dreamed a second time: Seven ears of grain, solid and healthy, grew on a single stalk. But close behind them sprouted seven ears, thin and scorched by the east wind. And the thin ears swallowed up the seven solid and full ears. Then Pharaoh awoke: it was a dream! Pharaoh’s magicians cannot make sense of his dreams, but Pharaoh does not give up. What he saw in his dream is too significant to pass by – even if he does not yet know what it signifies. In time, Joseph is summoned, due to his reputation for interpreting other people’s dreams. He sees…

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Grief & Coping / 24 Nov 2021

Coping With The Loss Of A Grandparent 

The death of a grandparent can be traumatic to children of any age, especially during the pandemic.

Bring The Sacred Down To Earth, Compassion and Empathy, Hold Dualities Together, Longform, Longform, Mundane Into Sacred, There's More To You Than You Realize, This Week In Wisdom, Uncategorized, Wisdom Daily News / 24 Nov 2021

What does it mean to have enough?

Do you really have nothing?

Relationships & Family / 23 Nov 2021

Three Last Minute Recipes For A Happier Thanksgiving

Beyond cooking, some new “recipes” to add to your repertoire

Book Club, Historic Profiles, Interviews With Wise People Of Today, Longform, Longform, This Week In Wisdom, Uncategorized / 23 Nov 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 thousands of miles that separate us — she is in Israel and I am in NYC — and this is what emerged. Enjoy! Rabbi Brad Hirschfield (BH): Let’s start with the title of your book, Gilgul. Please explain that word, and why you chose to title your book accordingly. Emily Singer (ES): Gilgul is loosely based on the Kabbalistic concept of Gilgul Neshamot, in which souls of the deceased return in future generations in order to “fix” flawed character traits that need perfecting. I love the idea that we are all a work in progress, always striving to improve, and that change happens slowly over time because it does. In the book, the emphasis is not on the individual, but on society. The main characters are “returned” to pivotal times in Jewish history in order to save the Jewish people and to move the world towards peace. BH: From the very beginning, this is a book about kids and their parents/family, a book about identity in general and Jewish identity in particular, and a book about a pretty remarkable time in history. How are those three related for you, and how would you like your readers to understand the connections between those three things? ES: I think we…

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