It’s almost like clockwork: “Rabbi, I’m scared to die. I’m not sure my life has meant enough.” It might sound like I’m talking about holding the hand of a 95-year-old on her deathbed, but I’m not. (Rarely do I meet people late in life who are unprepared for death. Most of the elderly people I know tend to feel “ready.”) Those who express the fear above are usually around 40 years old. As I say, it’s almost like clockwork…indeed, for so many of us. It’s a graduation into a new kind of......
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We’re all familiar with the expression about missing the forest for the trees, and its wisdom about not being distracted by smaller details that undermine our appreciation of the “big picture.” No doubt, that’s often good advice. After all, who among us hasn’t gotten bogged down in the details of a situation or a relationship, to the point that we lose touch with the larger purposes which give meaning to those very details? On the other hand… What about the wisdom that comes from attending to the “trees” even when the “forest”......
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Moments after the first tower fell, a group of unknowing waiters in Boston unlocked the doors of Skipjack’s Seafood Emporium, and began the tedious labor of setting up for Tuesday lunch. Fold napkins, brew coffee, bake rolls… I know these tasks, because I did every one of them, countless times, punching in and out of that restaurant for four years of my life. And while I wasn’t there that September morning in 2001, I know exactly which channels the bartender flipped through before stumbling upon The News. Once The News broke, the......
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