I love all the little courtesies that lubricate daily life: please and thank you, after you and excuse me — all of them. In fact, my currently emerging curmudgeonly side manifests mostly in the form of regular laments at the decline of ordinary manners. I love to give thanks for help, to express gratitude and …
This morning, a message posted to a list I’m on cited a teaching of Rebbe Nachman of Bratslav: all of life is just a narrow bridge; we must remember the most important thing is not to fear. There’s a beautiful tune that goes with those words, and I’ve been letting it circulate behind my thoughts …
In preparation for the High Holy Days, the Jewish new year, we are asked to do a cheshbon hanefesh, a soul inventory, as a guide to whatever repair, redirection, rededication we will make for the coming year. I love new beginnings, so this is my favorite time of the year, when tradition supports my repentence …
I apologize for disappearing for a week, but the Republican convention scared me blogless, which I think was the general idea. I didn’t watch the actual convention on TV, but I saw most of the stellar footage on Comedy Central’s very funny “Daily Show.” I had to scrape my jaw off the floor after three …
In the Jewish spiritual tradition, there is a Torah reading–a portion of the Hebrew Bible–assigned to each week. This week’s text is \Shoftim\, from Deuteronomy 16:18-21.9, focusing on prohibitions and exhortations to justice. I?m by no means a biblical literalist, but I often find the weekly text resonates with the concerns of the moment, providing …