Unbounded Moment
Many of you may not be aware that out of necessity I have a second job. It starts the moment I enter the house and two little girls come rushing toward me. Isabel, the “younger” one, misses me more than her sister and wraps her little arms around my neck, a tight squeeze. Last […]
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 […]
David and Goliath
This time David was Goliath. The scoreboard at the final buzzer: Jews 43 Catholics 39. It was the second (annual) basketball game organized by University of Colorado students demarcated by religion. In addition to the two Sanders boys and their friends, the Jewish boys recruited an Israeli named David, a junior who had come to […]
“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 […]
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 […]
The Promise is Now
Does death free of us our vows? Do our vows free us from death? Entering the solemnity of the day on this past Yom Kippur eve, Both Sides Now author Nancy Sharp transported us to the hospice bed of her beloved, departed husband. We cried as we shared her grief becoming present to our […]
After all is said and done
After all is said and done (the final shofar blast) ending Yom Kippur there is still the evening prayers to be recited. It is not a long service but after fasting for 25 hours it is a testament to one’s staying power to not bolt and head for food and drink. Could it be that […]
Tis the Forgiveness Season
I need to apologize in advance. I have not read the book that I am about to comment on—I just glanced at the table of contents. I should not, of course, judge a book by its table of contents—hence the apology. My thought process that led me to this book was as follows: If […]