A Serious Rabbi
There will be memorial services here in Denver to honor the life and accomplishments of Stanley Wagner, Rabbi, educator and risk taker who died this week. To me he was a serious man, a characterization that speaks to both his public demeanor and his drive to make a difference. It is therefore wonderful to relate […]
Of Humans and Angels
The moon was crescent to the south side—a Cheshire like smile illuminating the hidden, yet visible outline of its entirety. She was rising in the west, a guide to last night’s destination—another encounter with the spiritual medium, our speaker on unmasking the self, Rebecca Rosen. Are we human beings on a spiritual journey or […]
Your Next Act
Maimonides in his Code of Jewish Law provides an interesting image of the world teetering on a balance beam of existence–awaiting the very next human act (meaning your very next act) to either plummet it into oblivion or move it forward in its evolution (Laws of Repentance 3:4) A little over 10 years ago, […]
Sandersize and other Eponyms
I woke this morning with the word “ferberize” on my mind and then a string of associations to words such as sanitize, fantasize, compartmentalize and a whole string of words ending in “ize.” I then returned to ferberize and realized that what was intriguing me was that a word, in common English usage, was […]
Without a Calendar
The prediction that the world would end this past year on December 21st was an inaccurate portrayal of the Mayan culture’s very intricate and sophisticated solar calendar. Granted, the 13th baktun ended on that date (a baktun is 394 years) and all that is listed in the Mayan calendar is baktun 1-13. There is little […]
Life of Pi
I don’t get out much and felt it a great holiday treat to go to a theater to watch The Life of Pi, based on the book I read many years ago that remained in my memory. It took director Ang Lee 4 years to make the film—perhaps this helps explain why other directors passed […]
If you dream it
“I am asleep but my heart is awake.” This verse from the Song of Songs is the message of the Hebrew month of Kislev (Chanukah begins on the 25th of Kislev falling this year on December 8). In the earliest text of Kabbalah, Sefer Yetzirah, each month of the year is designated to a […]
Infant Morality
Not a typo. The most prevalent question in classes today was, “Did you see the piece on 60 minutes last night about infants and morality?” This past Sunday, a segment on 60 Minutes featured a wife-husband team at Yale University whose experiments with infants provide compelling evidence that babies know the difference between […]
Circles of Trust
Strumming my pain with his fingers Singing my life with his words Killing me softly with his song Killing me softly with his song Telling my whole life with his words Killing me softly with his song There are some songs that embed deep in your consciousness. I didn’t know this Roberta Flack song, […]
The Doors on the Bus Go Shut and Open
The doors on the bus closed as he answered my question, “Come to see me on Sunday at 10 a.m.” I have told this story many times about Reb Yossel, a chassidic Rebbe in Jerusalem who I was privileged to know when I was studying in Israel at age 17. The bus incident occurred when […]