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In a recent Shabbat encouragement about Bob Dylan, I brought to your attention our own Rob Berkowitz’s accomplishment as winner of a piano competition this summer in San Diego, as a result of which he will be playing a Felix Mendelssohn piece with the California Chamber... Read More →

This time of year brings with it many contradictions. Outside the walls of our cozy homes the blustery wind blows the snow’s beautiful flakes. The giggles of children making snow angels or the swishing of cross country skies delight, while some slip and fall on the icy... Read More →

I recently attended a talk on the spiritual journey of Bob Dylan given by a well respected Jewish expert on the life of this famous singer/songwriter. The goal of the talk was to demonstrate that Dylan is Jewish despite his seemingly public non commitment to being a member of the... Read More →

Working in downtown Boston definitely has its moments. On a recent lunch break as I walked in the Commons, I was confronted by a very vocal street pastor vociferously preaching the perils of not believing in Jesus and bemoaning our sinful ways. I found it interesting that though... Read More →

Last week we marveled over the many allusions to Yeshua in Leonard Cohen’s song lyrics, so many more than those I referenced from his last album (check out “Suzanne”). Since his passing I have been amazed at the way Jewish mainstream spokesmen have described... Read More →

Unlike Bob Dylan who at some time in his life was a believer in Yeshua, I am not aware that Leonard Cohen at any time believed in Jesus. And I in no way want to suggest that he did. In fact, he was a Buddhist monk for a number of years, and perhaps retained those beliefs... Read More →

A walk on the beach on Election Day couldn’t help but ease the underlying anxiety of what the day may bring. And as it turned out, the need was real. Although it was a stunningly beautiful warm day for November, there were only a few of us on the sandy shore, part of the... Read More →

Last week we mused over Bob Dylan’s recent receipt of the Nobel Peace prize and were excited that knowledge of a celebrity Jewish believer in Yeshua, at least for a part of his life, may help Jewish people to see that there may be more Messianic Jews around than one would... Read More →

The recent announcement of Bob Dylan as the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize for literature shook our sensibilities at many levels, and in good ways, perhaps not the least of which was that a singer/songwriter rather than an author had been chosen. The judges were able to think... Read More →

Sid and I don’t have cable so we watch several channels that show old movies and retro TV shows. One of our favorites is GET TV which this week aired a 1967 Merv Griffin (Show) interview of Richard Nixon before he announced his candidacy for president. I was too young at... Read More →

At Yom Kippur services this week I was intrigued by a phrase we say often, but now spoke to me in a new way. In the Machsor Amidah translation, we praise HaShem with the expressions “Shield of Abraham and Visitor to Sarah”. Sarah who I think was near ninety when she... Read More →

Recently when looking at one of HaShem’s created beauties though binoculars, I thought about how this device amazingly allows me to feel so close to something so very far away. Although the creature under view didn’t move toward me, through the hidden mechanism of the... Read More →

This week a friend and I had plans to speak by phone about a challenging situation. I decided it should be a three-way, so I drove to the local beach and climbed to one of my favorite places, revealing HaShem’s beautiful vista from the shore. I felt that with our Abba on... Read More →

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son . . . This passage and song lyric have always gripped me to the core. So when I heard it last Shabbat at services, as the punctuation of the thoughts I’d been pondering during the week, the picture became... Read More →

This month of Elul before the High Holy days is a time of preparation to address the ways we can be better creations, a time to address our failings and transgressions, a time to return to Him more centered as the new year begins. As I was immersing in those thoughts while... Read More →

Sid and I used Airbnb this summer to rent out our home in ME while we were at camp. It was a great experience and as HaShem provides, we earned almost to the dollar the amount we needed to have our house painted. Since Airbnb provides some sense of security regarding the... Read More →

As you know, Sid and I recently returned from Camp Or L’Dor. Since the location this year was so far away, we were gone for almost all of August. As a result, unfortunately, our home group seemed to languish. And as September is rolling in, I have some business travel... Read More →

My sister’s family dog Toby passed on recently. He was a basset hound and brought with him many funny stories as his appearance might suggest. Toby was something else. He could cause more mischief, mayhem, and mishaps, than any of our other family canines combined. He... Read More →

As you can already tell, Camp Or L’Dor this year was a huge success. The group of young people were exceptionally inspirational to all of us and there seemed to be amazing emotional and spiritual growth by most of the campers. One of our events was Israel Day. There was a... Read More →

Last week I shared with you my first day at camp and the “random” timing of meeting the rabbi here as we were about to go to our first activity. It didn’t take long for HaShem to answer my pondering. . . The very next morning I went to one of the common... Read More →

Last week I observed that kindness also includes letting less patient drivers ahead of you in traffic. Interestingly, the responses I received in large part felt that that was just a little bit too kind. In other words, many felt that it wasn’t right to allow the... Read More →

Lots was on my plate last week so when my son and his wife spontaneously invited me on Sunday afternoon to come down to see first grandchild Brightly, I jumped on it! Unfortunately, Sid had to report to jury duty the next day so it was me solo for the three-plus hour drive from... Read More →

My adult daughter is emotionally fragile. Life for her, and therefore for us, can be challenging. Recently she went through a time where we didn’t know where she was. Thankfully she is getting the care she needs. But in the course of this episode, Sid and I needed to attend... Read More →

The death of Elie Wiesel this week brought the world a step closer to the possibility of fogetting the Holocaust. We live in a time so many years removed from the actual event that it no longer is part of our consciousness and is at risk of slipping from our subconscious. Even I... Read More →

Last week we watched the following video reminding us that when we focus on our blessings, they shape our view of the world and remind us of HaShem’s presence. Link to the video: https://youtu.be/JjAH_riF6K8 Do you imagine the butterfly soaring through the woods in fear of... Read More →

Sid and I recently took an RV trip to Canada’s Campobello Island, FDR’s summer home. It’s a great place to explore and see new things.   One morning as we were eating breakfast and admiring the view, a very small butterfly landed on the window screen. I love... Read More →

  “In psychology, cognitive dissonance is the mental stress or discomfort experienced by an individual who holds two or more contradictory beliefs, ideas, or values at the same time, performs an action that is contradictory to one or more beliefs, ideas, or values, or... Read More →

  How much do you value it? Life? It is easy in today’s world to become desensitized to the preciousness of every living creation. I actually worry about our young people and what has been their world via media and social media. My youngest sister had only the choice of... Read More →

Most of us are aware of the tragedy that occurred at the Cincinnati Zoo last weekend. A small child strayed from his mother and accidentally ended up in the gorilla exhibit. Although at first it looked as if the boy was being protected by the gorilla, Harambe also acted erratic... Read More →

  Several years back I was invited by my sister to Girly Weekend. This was an annual trip started by her best friend and another friend who were the core of the group. I really didn’t want to go but my sister played the sister card, “I won’t go unless you... Read More →