rodney dangerfield
05/28/2020 03:20:51 PM
The Passover dishes are safely stored away in the basement, after having schlepped up and down one very long flight of stairs at least two dozen times. Perhaps it’s my imagination, but the climb seems a bit more tiring each year. The good news is that we remembered to store away the Pesadik fleishik oven mitts with the Passover supplies.
Did you ever notice that no matter how many times you vacuum the dining room, you keep finding matza crumbs? Not only is matza the ideal post-nuclear catastrophe food, but it is also the messiest food known to mankind. By the time you have managed to finally remove all the crumbs, it is next Passover and the crumbs can be part of the search for chametz.Read more...
may you be chosen
05/22/2020 02:20:43 PM
The word “chosen” has frequently been applied to the Jewish people over the centuries, sometimes in a not-so-loving way. There are those that feel that the appellation “The Chosen People” reeks of hubris, that “my religion is better than yours”. It has been one of many excuses for anti-Semitism. Not that anti-Semites need excuses, for there no excuse for anti-Semitism. I believe that the word...Read more...
a new and improved version?
05/14/2020 09:26:26 AM
The continued wave of creativity that has been expressed through Social Media over the past two months is wonderful to observe, although not surprising. Sometimes our lives are just so busy that we do not have the time to devote to sharing our vast array of avocations beyond the skill sets needed for our professions. There has been a blossoming of talent on display throughout these past two months, worthy of...Read more...
outside the box
05/07/2020 10:31:11 AM
Leave it to an old language, Yiddish, to be nimble, responsive, and modern. Many, if not most of us, use Zoom multiple times per day. If you are one of those who tires of the constant usage, the new Yiddish term is oysgezoomt, literally “over-Zoomed”. My addition to this new terminology is to include a word for those who just cannot adapt or utilize Zoom properly: farzoomt. Attempts at humor aside, these...Read more...
What will they say?
04/30/2020 09:07:09 AM
Amid this period of self-quarantine, we continue with Sefirat Ha-Omer, the period where we count up from the second Seder for forty-nine days, until we arrive at Shavuot, the agricultural festival that celebrates God giving the Torah at Mt. Sinai. There is another counting period that began prior, and that is the number of days that we have been primarily in our homes. There is no specific beginning date, as it...Read more...
How Do we Measure Success?
04/23/2020 09:52:23 AM
Is success measured by the amount of money in your bank account or in your pension? Or might there be different tools that measure it? Is the new standard for success the fact that I was finally able to purchase a package of toilet tissue at a...Read more...
From where does my help come?
04/14/2020 09:19:25 AM
During challenging times, people of faith will turn to their religion to provide them with strength and hope. Many have seen or heard me quote Psalm 121: I turn my eyes to the heavens; from where shall my help come? My help comes from God, Maker of heaven and earth. I began including that Psalm every morning after 10.27, and continue during this time of self-quarantine. I find that it provides me...Read more...
What do we miss most?
04/07/2020 10:55:01 AM
Every Rabbi, and most likely everyone who will be participating in the Passover Seder, will find the opening question of the Four Questions very powerful this year: How is this night different from all other nights? There will be an immense range of answers, from the serious to the sublime, from the humorous to the hallucinogenic. Obviously it will be different, but that does not mean unfamiliar. The matza...Read more...
How is this Night Different From All other NIghts?
04/02/2020 12:00:21 AM
How will this night be different from all other nights? Indeed, there are potentially many answers. But to back up a bit, even though all of us will not be privileged to have the usual Seder with family and friends in person, that does not mean that Passover is canceled. It is not. It is always good to give the house a spring cleaning, although for many, the disinfecting and cleaning has been ongoing for quite a bit of time. I have read of...Read more...
An Attitude of Gratitude v. 2.0
03/25/2020 11:28:47 AM
It might seem peculiar to read someone use the word “grateful” during this pandemic. Rather, it is far easier to inject into one’s writings a slew of negative adjectives describing our lot at this time. During bleak times, hope seems to be absent. We need to remember that despite the cloudiest of days, the sun is still shining. We just cannot see it, but it’s there.
Our...Read more...