A Calendar of Blessings
When Pope Francis assumed the papacy almost two years ago he greeted the thronging crowd in xt” The he bowed his head and beseeched those in attendance (and around the world) to bless him. Do leaders need our blessing? In Hebrew, the word for blessing is Baruch (Beit-Reish-Kaf) and as pointed out in an […]
Why ask Why and other Burning Questions
One of the most profound questions ever posed is “Why ask why? “ Sakichi Toyoda was not only intrigued by the question, the founder of Toyota, devised a system for his engineers to reveal the root causes of problems. Toyoda’s 5 Whys is an iterative question-asking technique used to explore the cause-and-effect relationships underlying a […]
New Year, New Moon, New Joy
New Year NewYear, again? According to the rabbinic tradition there are four ‘new years’ every year – for months (moons), for animals (of the flock), for humans (Rosh Hashanah), and for trees. Kabbalah likewise understands that time also intersects with four worlds, existing simultaneously. These worlds have parallels in the elements (earth, water, air, fire), […]
It was the day before Chanukah
It was the day before Chanukah And all through the school Children wrestled and tussled But not to be cruel This was home for them all A place of content A refuge A dream Hours well spent In the main auditorium Gathered to learn first-aid A teacher leapt up To prevent those on stage […]
Refuse to Accept
Is there enough money to afford education for every child on earth, to feed the hungry and starving, and to provide public toilets? Kailash Satyarthi, the co-winner of the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize thinks so. In his acceptance speech in Olso yesterday, his refrain was “I refuse to accept.” What Mr. Satyarthi has refused […]
Skeptics and Synchronicity
Skeptics have a magazine, a website, a dictionary, an international conference, a camp, and a million dollar award for anyone able to prove the supernatural (http://web.randi.org/the-million-dollar-challenge.html). The Amazing Meeting, held this past year in Las Vegas, is an “annual gathering of like-minded critical thinkers devoted to the philosophy of Skepticism who enjoy some of […]
Call My Name
King Massasoit of the Wampanoag tribe was a man of peace. He welcomed the “white” settlers to his land. As a King he sold them land. Soon enough the settlers were so many in number they stopped buying land—they just took it. Native American leaders had choices—but those who could see ahead knew that their […]
Hope is a Breath Away
Swirling in my head, deep fear in every cell of my body, I am looking for hope. Hope is a flame we need to keep alive. A baby is born on this planet every time you breathe in. That is hope. A child dies or is killed on every outbreath you take. That is despair. […]
The Whole Me
The black and white photo to the left is dated 1965. Does that help in identifying who the mother and child are? If you know that the mother’s first name is Ruthie and that she named her son Mark help you with their identity? I began last week to address our insufficient language around race […]
Ayin of Ma-du-ah
Last week we raised questions about the Hebrew words for “why?” — maduah ( Mem-Dalet-Vav-Ayin) and lamah (Lamed-Mem-Heh). We want to explore what these different ways of asking “why” mean and how the letter Ayin, the letter for the month of Tevet, might help us appreciate the word maduah. Rabbi Avraham Trugman responds to […]