No Regrets
Can we live a life with “no regrets”—I would answer, “If we have acted on our regrets.” One of the first steps in atonement, after acknowledging whatever it is we are atoning for, is a deep sense of regret. In this third week of Elul we must feel our regrets but not become stuck in […]
Immunity on the Basketball Court
I want to thank our Board President, Ilana Erez, for forwarding a recent KE blog to her adult children who are parents of young ones. Not Just Lip Service (July 4th blog) struck a chord with many of you who shared stories of what you were told you licked or mouthed (or ate) as infants […]
Tissues at Center Court
Andy Murray cried for the British nation this past Sunday. He lost in the finals at Wimbledon—on his home court. He could not hold back his emotions as he opened his post tournament comments with, “I’m getting closer.” Murray is ranked number 4 in the world of tennis and that is usually where he ends […]
When Will I See Your Face Again?
“If you believe” transformed us from an audience to a chorus accompanying Julie Geller as she sang her final song at the Kabbalah Coffeehouse for our art show this past Sunday. There is a power in participating—meeting the artist with your appreciation and exuberance. Julie on guitar, accompanied by Ari Hoffman on drums, kept the […]
Help Is On The Way
“Crystallize your goals. Make a plan for achieving them and set yourself a deadline. Then, with supreme confidence, determination and disregard for obstacles and other people’s criticisms, carry out your plan.” Paul Meyer This week of Tiferet (the third week of the count) is our time to create a plan for change. There is a […]
Counting On It
The Basics: 1. We will be counting 50 days (7weeks plus an additional day—the 50th –which is the holiday of Shavuot—the receiving of the Ten Commandments at Sinai). 2. This count is a recount and a new count. It recounts the process of the Jews leaving Egyptian slavery and journeying 49 days in the desert—their […]
Productive Counting
We are just over a week away from counting the Omer—a fifty day count from Passover to the holiday of Shavuot—commemorating the journey the Jews traversed from Egyptian slavery to becoming a nation with the Torah as its religious covenant. This year we will again look at the fifty day count as a step program […]
Providing Definition
A number of our students subscribe to word of the day and today’s word, appropriately, is vernal. Vernal stems from the Latin word vernus meaning “pertaining to spring.” It is related to the word “verdant.” My love of language and words has instilled a curiosity in how words come into being. For instance, what is […]
Purim Reflections
Dear Sally (Stich) and Sally (Kurtzman): I wanted to thank you both for conceiving, nurturing, delivering and parenting our Kabbalah Live! speaker series. Last Thursday we were inspired by the 15th speaker you arranged (yes, we are three years old), the Adventure Rabbi, Jamie Korngold. In my study I have a shelf that is now […]
Sand and Stone
Write your hurts in the sand and carve your blessings in stone One of our students this week used this quote to describe her father’s remarkable attitude to life. He was fourteen when he arrived at Auschwitz. At wars’ end he and his brother were the sole survivors of their family. Next Thursday we welcome […]