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  It is another stunningly beautiful day in the Poconos. It’s not just any day. It’s Shabbat. It’s not just any Shabbat. It’s Shabbat at Camp Or L’Dor, and it’s our chai year, the 18th time this blessing has been bestowed on us.   Most of you know a summer camp for... Read More →

  Personally I believe angels are all around us. I believe the veil between the seen and unseen worlds is permeable and we just can’t see into it. My sense is the spiritual beings in the unseen realm can and do interact with this realm.   I have experienced angels in my... Read More →

  Sid and I recently participated in the dedication ceremony for a bronze sculpture made by William Zorach, a Jewish immigrant born in Lithuania in the late 1880s.  Our local Maine band provided music as part of the program which included the benefactors who made the... Read More →

  I am so grateful to be home . . . at least for even a few days.   We have been on the road more than usual and our usual is already a lot. This morning was the first day in a long time when Sid and I could awake to a quiet morning and enjoy the beauty of our... Read More →

  This has been the most delightful two weeks of my most recent life. You know from my wanderings that my flight back from Dallas to Boston on Memorial Day “somehow” diverted me to Denver where my son’s family including our adorable granddaughter live. We had a delightful... Read More →

  Last week we pondered how our emotional wiring starting from childhood frames our life perspective. In situations where we have experienced hardship and trauma from a young age, in perception or reality, our lives can be stuck in negative cycles that can not only distort... Read More →

  I suppose it sounds corny – “God is love”.  We’ve heard the phrase so many times. It sends a beautiful direct and subliminal message making us feel comforted just in seeing the words and bringing them to our consciousness. What this week’s experiences have shown me,... Read More →

  Spoiler Alert: Do not read this Shabbat encouragement unless you have already seen or do not plan to watch the movie “Remarkably Bright Creatures” on Netflix starring Sally Field and Lewis Pullman (as well as Marcellus the octopus). The big reveal occurs in the last ten... Read More →

  Last week we pondered this time of reset – an opportunity to slow down, reset our priorities, and move forward with intention, specifically with God at the helm. Then I was focusing on just having returned from our wintering in Florida. I was looking forward to literally... Read More →

  I love my sister’s house.   Sid and I arrived late Monday night from our sojourn in Florida. In some ways it seems like we’ve been gone for a long time. In other ways it’s as if I never left, for my heart is always here even when away.   One of my favorite rooms... Read More →

  While in Florida for the past several years I’ve enjoyed being part of “The Jam”. This is a group of singers and musicians made up of some of us who live here. On Thursday afternoons we perform for other residents who bring their lawn chairs to listen and relax by the... Read More →

  Last week we noodled the importance of bringing more love into this world in order to combat the dark forces of evil. I was still kvelling (rejoicing) in the warmth of love still aglow from our granddaughter’s visit and thanking God for all the blessings He made... Read More →

  Last week I shared with you the joy and peace that I was experiencing as a result of the visit by our 7 year old granddaughter. Now after days of Disneyworld, camping in our RV, travel to a five year old grandson’s birthday party in St. Petersburg, more beach and swim days, and... Read More →

  The past weeks have been filled with goodness and yet I have been challenged with more responsibilities than usual. Primarily my efforts have been focused on nursing Sid back to health and Baruch Hashem he is now pain free as his ankle continues to heal. We are praying that the... Read More →

  Several weeks ago I shared with you the importance of keeping God in our thoughts moment by moment. Reflecting on that directive made me ponder further the impossibility of doing just that. How can I possibly think about God moment by moment if my life is so busy? I’ve... Read More →

For the past several sermons Rabbi Nathan has continued his exploration of the Sermon on the Mount and the central role in those passages of what is commonly known as The Lord’s Prayer (Tefilat Avinu). That concept itself is so very novel and thought provoking not to mentio... Read More →

  This morning Sid and I were having what I thought was just an interesting chat. I was sharing with him the latest examples of “synchronicities”, those perfectly timed coincidences that show our Creator is orchestrating our lives so beautifully and mysteriously.   I... Read More →

  Last week I shared with you details of Sid’s terrible fall which caused a severe broken ankle requiring complete immobilization for the foreseeable future. As a result I have checked out of all of my usual activities including phone time, for I am by his side almost all of... Read More →

  We all know of the manna which God provided for the Israelites when in the desert for 40 years after escaping bondage in Egypt.  When the dew evaporated what was left behind was a flake-like substance perhaps tasting a bit sweet like honey. When this heavenly dew fell the... Read More →

  Sid and I are watching a worthwhile TV miniseries called “A Small Light” on Prime Video. It is the story of Miep Gies who was instrumental in hiding Anne Frank and her family in Amsterdam during the Nazi occupation. The show’s depiction of Miep’s transformation from a... Read More →

  I recently read a fascinating article about Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. For some of you she was a figure in history, the First Lady when John F. Kennedy was President. For many of us she was an amazing person we often read about in the headlines, her demeanor and... Read More →

As many of you know, my mantra is conversation leads to understanding. Even in the most tense of situations, even in thinking about horrific events that have been and are happening, if we imagined the people involved civilly discussing their issues with each other, the results... Read More →

  This past week I lost two members of my extended family to complications from dementia. They had been suffering for several years and their suffering finally ended within days of each other. At the time Sid and I were babysitting our grandchildren as we experienced the... Read More →

  I recently met a 92 year old woman whose story saddened me deeply as she shared it.   I didn’t know her but met Sarah while on a walk with a friend who wanted to stop to check in on her. As we walked into Sarah’s very small home it was like an Alice Through the... Read More →

  It’s that time again. Sid and I just arrived in Florida and we will be here until May. I’ve shared with you before how this schedule was never my plan. Yet over the past five years it has come to be, and with it new experiences, new relationships, more trust in HaShem.... Read More →

  I recently shared with you the scary experiences of worrying about our home in Maine during the long time of below average temperatures while we were with family over the holidays in Massachusetts and Vermont. As we have been preparing for our time in Florida new ideas are... Read More →

  I am such a work in progress. Aren’t we all?   I shared with you the Thanksgiving drama this year of having been without my cell phone for the entire five day trip to Nashville and how I grew closer to God through that experience. I guess the holidays are His teaching... Read More →

  At this time of year when surrounded by festive lights and reminders of Christmas, we often hear the expression, “’Tis the season!” Although used in the 19th century previous to the well known Christmas carol “Deck the Halls”, that song popularized the expression which has... Read More →

  It really is a wonderful time of year. Of course it’s busy, but it’s really a good busy in the sense of our having plenty to eat, warm homes, loving people in our lives, often too many to be with at one time. What nice problems to have in today’s world of woes, and that is... Read More →

  We’re in the thick of it – the holiday season. Chanukah is just around the corner. Extra travel. Performances to do and attend. Visitors. Extra cooking and cleaning, not to mention the holiday shopping. Oh, and life as usual, work, school, stress. It’s inevitable every... Read More →