Blog

The Passover Seder is filled with moments of celebration and joy, both as texts in the Haggadah as well as conversation at the table. At least it is supposed to be.  Many will feel the diminished element very strongly not merely by removing one drop of wine for each of the Ten Plagues as we are to lessen our joy, but by the empty chair that symbolizes day 200 of captivity of the...Read more...

According to the National Center for Environmental Information, Pittsburgh averages 59 clear days per year and 306 cloudy days. However, the 306 cloudy days includes partly cloudy days too, in which clouds cover 40 to 70 percent of the sky. If only overcast days are taken into consideration, the city averages 203 per year. As if that lessens the pain. In terms of the presence of sunlight,...Read more...

That feeling of just too much has returned. It’s different from eating way too much at the Passover Seder, as that passes. It is the continuous flow of bad news with no escape. I’ve experienced it twice within the past 5 ½ years. The first was within the first six months of 10.27, when the onslaught of media, requests for interviews, telephone calls, text messages, a steady flow of visitors and so much more...Read more...

I think that I remember correctly that seasons were not the roller coaster ride of temperature variations that they seem to be now during my childhood. It gradually got colder, with the potential exception of a few warm days amidst Autumn, and then gradually warmed up. There was a predictable cycle to them. Many might chime in at this point and claim that it is Global Warming. I do not know enough about the...Read more...

It is easy to overlook the value of one’s community, especially with with the busy and complex
nature of our lives. I had the opportunity to reflect and celebrate the concept of community this
past week as we gathered to mourn the passing of someone dear to us. The outpouring of love
and support from so many people from so many diverse walks of life who shared a singular
thread of commonality through this family made the...Read more...