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Last week we marveled at the omnipresence of HaShem, magnificently even in the inner city of Chicago with no fanfare of beaches and trees. He literally meets us where we are and seeks us constantly. The question is how often do we seek Him? Sometimes we may feel very connected to... Read More →

So many of you noticed I did not send out a Shabbat encouragement last week. First, please remember they will be when they will be. Second, however, thank you for letting me know how much they mean to you. Yes, last week was beyond my capacity to stay in long enough, or even... Read More →

The Brood X cicadas are returning. Every 17 years like clockwork. A beautifully orchestrated time of literal raising from the seemingly dead while in their nymph stage, to rebirth, redemption, renewal, regeneration, as their primary reason to emerge from the ground is to... Read More →

As I was again jogging on the beach this week, I was thinking about last Shabbat’s encouragement which reminded us that when we are fearful, busy, or distracted we often miss the bigger picture. At the very moment of that thought, I spotted a perfect conch shell, large and... Read More →

It’s a beautiful Shabbat morning and I felt the call to spend deep time with HaShem even before our beautiful Shabbat services would start. The day is glorious! The beach is pristine. The ocean is calling. As I arrived, I marveled again at the beautiful movement of the terns at... Read More →

People who live on this particular barrier island in Florida call it a little piece of Paradise. And yet, as everywhere, it has its challenges. This season I’ve been troubled as I’ve watched the falling out of two best friends. As the season wore on, their interpersonal... Read More →

“Passover” – the word brings to mind the amazing saving of our people as the Angel of Death passed over the first born of the Israelites, not sparing those of the Egyptians. It was a seminal moment for our people, so defining, that we are to relive it annually, viscerally, as we... Read More →

Last week we processed the senseless killings in Atlanta. This week we’ve experienced more such tragedy in Boulder. So many theories, inevitable exploitive agendas, inexplicable inconsistencies, such irrational actions, perhaps that last description the most challenging. One of... Read More →

As much as we try to live healthily and optimistically, at times it is so difficult. Sometimes we struggle with personal times of sorrow. Sometimes such as now it’s impossible to ignore troubling headlines as we read of the murders in Atlanta particularly, although clearly not... Read More →

I recently received a moving email from someone who reflected on the one year anniversary of the acknowledged start of the Covid-19 pandemic, at least as it began to most dramatically affect the United States. As I read her various revelations from the smallest (no make-up!) to... Read More →

Last week as I was writing about the many messages from HaShem during a glorious jog on the beach, I was not unaware that writing this during the winter for many of my readers in New England could feel very unrelatable, not to mention during a week of horrific headlines from... Read More →

Perhaps nowhere other than in the sanctuary do I feel closer to HaShem than when I am near the ocean. My gaze is unending every day in Maine when I awake and look out the window at the ocean. I can do this for hours on end, praying, meditating, writing, expressing gratitude.... Read More →

The parent/child stories of challenge seem everywhere. I do not know any families in my immediate circle who are having easy times with children, whether at home, grown up, or at home and grown up! As parents we learn how to handle the truth that we have no control over this... Read More →

Although I have written on this subject numerous times already, we can never get enough reminders to be grateful. Today I realized what an amazing tool this is, one which always works. As many of you know, Sid and I have been planning to leave for Florida for the past several... Read More →

This Shabbat encouragement, in large part, was written several years ago. I found the message timely given so many I know with plates overflowing with challenges, that a reminder about the importance of gratitude is always welcome. When we are dealing with unusual challenge... Read More →

Regardless of our politics, this week’s quiet yet uplifting inauguration ceremony helped each of our psyches. Just as in the days of the Civil War, we may have differing opinions, very diverse ones at that. Yet a leader who is pledged to be a peacemaker may be just what we need... Read More →

It seems for quite some time now that even the simple things aren’t simple. Coincidental with the onset of Covid, or perhaps stealthily sneaking in even before then, life for so many of us has been more challenging than usual. I know I’ve talked about seasons in our lives, the... Read More →

As a new year starts, it brings a fresh opportunity to evaluate so many aspects of our lives. We start with hope of leaving behind that which holds us back – unhealthy eating, judgmental thinking, entrenched opinions, unhealthy lifestyle choices, and perhaps the one most... Read More →

As 2020 comes to an end, at least for me, it is going out with a bang! We’ve shouldered together a year of challenges ranging from the quite personal to global. As we’ve processed together we’ve marveled at the universality of our experiences, be they history repeating itself or... Read More →

I doubt anyone can disagree with the statement that this has been an unusual year in so many ways. I do not want to put to words the many challenges, all of which made almost unbearable living in the grip of COVID-19. On the other hand (as Tevye would say), perhaps we are ending... Read More →

This Shabbat encouragement was written a year ago and is as timely now as then as our first Nor’Easter of this season hits just as last year’s did at this time. Surprisingly also, this week’s headlines, though slightly different from last year’s, still cry with the challenges we... Read More →

Last week we reveled at Joshua Nelson’s ability to cross racial, religious, and cultural boundaries by his personage and music style which blend Jewish and gospel traditions. In our present day divisive world, the ability to embrace and yet unite diversity in such an uplifting... Read More →

This week on Emerson College’s Chagigah Sunday morning radio program there was a discussion of Joshua Nelson whose nickname is “the prince of kosher gospel”. In introducing one of Nelson’s works, the host of the show gave his listeners some interesting background about this... Read More →

I recently saw an interview of Michael J. Fox, of “Back to the Future” and other fame. He was being interviewed about his upcoming fourth memoir entitled No Time Like the Future. As you may know, he has had Parkinson’s Disease for the past 30 years and a couple years ago had... Read More →

This week as I was watching the long range forecast on the local TV weather report, I was struck by an interchange. I must say, we have been blessed with an amazingly mild fall (well, until this week). We’ve enjoyed many days of 60s and sunny. When looking at the forecast,... Read More →

Last week we looked at the importance of good leadership in bringing together diverse opinions. We used the metaphor of a parent and children in thinking about leaders and the important role they play in creating a world in which people can live together in harmony despite their... Read More →

As I watched the election returns, the divisiveness of our country so vividly displayed by the red and blue state blocks, I thought about our times. It was enlightening to listen to various commentators analogize these days to the polarization after the Civil War, or the economic... Read More →

On today’s jog a small snake slithered across my path. I’m not a snake person, so my initial reaction was “Ewww. . . “ Objectively, it was rather pretty with a bold yellow stripe down its back and rather graceful in its slither. Yet for me, just not one of my favorite things, one... Read More →

Recently I encouraged us to fight for our sense of well being, that special place of shalom with HaShem, that place of no fear for we have given our feelings of anxiety and stress over to Him. We also fight for just causes, a lifelong passion for me, a reason for my choice of... Read More →

This morning Sid asked me if I wrote a Shabbat encouragement this week. I said “no”. My feeling on these has always been that if one comes during the week, I will share it. If not, not. I do know, however, through the feedback I receive that some of you have come to look for them... Read More →