The Rhyme of the Ancient Mime
He said “time will be my judge” He left without a trace Of regret or words unspokenEvery crease upon his face The delight and pain of grooves Etched in pantomime Filled space Enter silence you will Feel him For movement was his grace To express the finiteness of our personal existence, Yoga tradition […]
Being Centered
“Being centered” is a phrase that is used to connote being at peace, being whole. In mythology, the world has its center as well—a geographic center from which creation flows. In the Jewish tradition this center is Jerusalem—Yerushalayim–the city of peace or wholeness. In Greek mythology that center is Delphi—the center of mother earth. In […]
Why You Were Born
Early in the movie Slumdog Millionaire the main character as a participant on Who Wants to be a Millionaire needs to answer the question: What motto is inscribed on India’s national emblem? The answer stuck with me: Truth alone triumphs. In Jewish tradition there is a similar phrase “The seal of the Holy One […]
Reading Between the Candles
Jews have been in America since before it was America. The first synagogue in America, Shearith Israel, was established in 1654 by Jews fleeing the Inquisition in Brazil and finding a safe haven in New Holland. More than a hundred years later, Shearith Israel’s Rabbi, Gershom Seixas, delivered this message on the first national holiday […]
If the Sole Fits
What do Bill Clinton (2007), Bono (2005), Karen Armstrong (2008) and Sugata Mitra (2013) have in common? They are winners of the TED prize, an annual award of $1million presented to people whose ideas and passions can spark global change. Sugata Mitra wants to spark a revolution in learning by implementing SOLE, self-organized learning […]
“Mind-Fur-Ness”
“A Tzadik in Peltz” is a Yiddish aphorism that describes a person who is (self) righteous but does not turn his or her righteousness towards others. Literally it means, “A righteous person in a (fur) coat.” As Rabbi Menachem of Kotkz explained: The Tzadik (in Peltz), warmly encased in protective fur, cannot appreciate the shivering […]
The Yin and Yang of Grief
According to legend, the panda was once an all-white bear. When a small girl tried to save a panda cub from being attacked by a leopard, the leopard killed the girl instead. Pandas came to her funeral wearing armbands of black ashes. As they wiped their eyes, hugged each other, and covered their ears, they […]
Portrait of Jewish America
Alarm bells sounded earlier this month with the release of the findings from a major Pew Foundation survey of American Jews. A Portrait of Jewish Americans is the first national study in 13 years assessing a host of demographic data on religious identity, beliefs, practices and attitudes, rates of intermarriage and affiliation of Jews […]
Weaving Trust
It may be exactly 10 years. I don’t recall the exact date but it was a Thursday in October 2003 that five men gathered at 7:30 a.m. to start learning Kabbalah together. What could be more traditional than five men, each of us well over 40 years old, gathering early in the morning trying to […]
Friends and Kabbalalists
What is the litmus test of a community? Included on the only validated measurement of “sense of community” (SCI-2) is the shared experience of both celebrations and disasters. The communal response to the recent floods in Colorado is an example of how disaster brings a community together. My family was privileged to attend the […]