I was delighted to see friends from all around Metro Atlanta at the Tu B’Shevat tree planting in Wade Walker Park on Sunday, and honored to offer a teaching and kavanah, intention, before we began our work. While there isn’t a blessing to recite upon planting a tree, I shared Rebbe Nachman’s prayer (below). The … Read more
It’s difficult to believe it’s been 3 weeks since I posted any news here. I can’t really explain why—I suppose I could offer the excuse that I have limited use of my “mouse hand,” but this would be disingenuous. The splint protecting my right CMC joint is definitely a help not a hindrance. Perhaps the … Read more
“I’m always thinking about creating. My future starts when I wake up in the morning and see the light.” —Miles Davis After walking Henry (in the 12-degrees-with-the-wind-feels-like-2-degrees-weather) today, I curled up next to him on the couch with my coffee and began my morning ritual, which includes reading the Daily Dose of Talmud and opening … Read more
Yesterday at 1:15 PM, students, teachers and alumni from the Jewish Theological Seminary gathered in New York City and on Zoom to observe the 5th yahrzeit (anniversary of the death) of Rabbi Neil Gillman, may his memory be a blessing. I was teaching at The Weber School in Atlanta, and when class ended at 1:30 … Read more
בָּ֭עֶרֶב יָלִ֥ין בֶּ֗כִי וְלַבֹּ֥קֶר רִנָּֽה Tears may linger when night falls, but joy arrives with the dawn. (Psalms 30:6) My list of those in need of healing grows longer as the days get shorter. I wake up in the dark, sometime between 5:15 and 5:30 AM, and wonder at the Psalmist’s conviction. Each day I arrive … Read more
Today is the 936th day of March 2020. Today is the 27th day of Elul 5782. I can’t help but notice the discrepancy between the COVID calendar and the Jewish calendar. The former displays a monotonous repetition, each day like the previous one with no productive forward motion. We are stuck in time. Or, perhaps, … Read more
We rescued Luna in December 2013, about 8 weeks after our first dog died. Jenna, a Chocolate Lab we rescued in 2003, had slowed down in the late summer. She was 13 years old, and her decline was swift. When it was time to let her go, we knew it was time. We agreed to … Read more
On the Rabbis Without Borders blog, a reflection on being paralyzed by fear and finding a way forward, with the help of friends, including one who encouraged me to compose and share this prayer: “God Desires My Freedom,” recited at the Lights for Liberty Vigil to End Human Detention Camps, Plaza Fiesta, Chamblee, GA – … Read more
On the Rabbis Without Borders blog, my personal story of accompanying an asylum seeker in immigration court: The email request arrives on Friday around 2:30 pm. The subject: “Accompaniment Urgently Needed for Asylum Court Case.” Volunteers are needed on June 6th. It’s been more than five months since I returned from Nogales, where I was … Read more
“What did you do during spring break?” I can hardly wait to get back to school Monday morning to ask, and answer, this question. Yesterday, I offered an invocation during the awards luncheon at the WICERS 2019 conference. It was the second-most meaningful meal, after our family Seder, of my Passover celebration. WICERS, an acronym for … Read more