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  In previous Shabbat encouragements we have pondered the reality of the tension we live in between joy and sorrow in this world, trying to understand the how and why, concluding this is the way of mankind’s life in this realm. As the weeks of battle in the Ukraine have... Read More →

  Participating in the Maturing in Messiah (MIM) class has brought so much richness to my life – new practices, new perspectives, new interactions in existing relationships, new knowledge about my faith, and more. The havruta method of such life learning with another member... Read More →

  The past couple weeks have been extremely happy times personally. A very hard comment to make since every day I am watching the developments in the Ukraine which are so heartbreaking and inscrutable. Yet we acknowledge that in this life we often live in the tension between... Read More →

  During my morning Shachrit recently, I ran across a fascinating footnote in my siddur on the subject of the Shema:   “ ’The Lord is One’: among the many meanings of this phrase are: (1) there is only one God; (2) God is a unity, indivisible; (3) God is the only... Read More →

  Some of you know my mantra is “Conversation leads to understanding”, a phrase shared with me by the Camp Director at Surprise Lake Camp in 2010, the first year SLC hosted our Camp Or L’Dor. Since then I’ve let that wisdom guide my interactions with others and find it is a... Read More →

  As you know, I typically send out a little Shabbat encouragement on Thursday evenings. This week was exceptionally busy, so that didn’t happen. Today, however, I finally had time for my jog time with HaShem, but instead of listening to my usual Messianic Jewish music... Read More →

Recently, the world observed International Holocaust Day. Straying from my usual format and inspired by one of the coverages in particular, I wanted to share the following video: So much can be said. So many take-aways. The mere fact that Lily Ebert, a 97 year old Auschwitz... Read More →

My morning jog with HaShem again did not disappoint. . . As I jogged around our community here in Florida today I thought about the history of this small island. Although Nettles Island is on the east coast where more East Coast residents tend to winter, this particular area by... Read More →

This week I attended a memorial service for Jason Dobbs-Hyer. I didn’t know him very well but remembered from the short interchanges we had what a special person he was. I knew of him really more through Sid since the two of them shared a love of cycling which they would discuss... Read More →

Sid and I are here in Florida for this season. It’s hard to believe we’ve been coming to Florida for the last eight winters, the first several times just passing through or staying for a short time, the last several actually living down here for a number of months. Doing so has... Read More →

As this new year begins, we are once again given an opportunity to start anew, set new goals, look back and move forward to be the person HaShem has created us to be. We are given yet another time to become energized to live life moving closer to walking with Him, a time to... Read More →

Do you ever just walk around your house or outdoors and become overwhelmed by God’s blessings? Not all the time (as we probably should), but just now and then when you just can’t help yourself? So it was this morning. I woke up at our home in Maine. Granted, we’re only here for... Read More →

How we don’t know what we don’t know. . . Last Erev Shabbat I flew back from Dallas to Boston. After six weeks with my dear ones and after the passing of my loved one there, it was time to come home. Other loved ones were there to take my place as we could all look forward to... Read More →

The inevitable has happened. My beloved brother-in-law passed on Sunday evening. Although it was expected, it was sooner than anticipated and not without suffering at the end despite the best efforts of hospice. It has been beautiful to see the love that has made this journey the... Read More →

A Shabbat encouragement from a couple years ago, still timely today: 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 car... Read More →

This week I saw a great movie on Netflix – “Freedom Writers” – a 2007 film depicting the true story of Erin Gruwell (brilliantly portrayed by Hilary Swank), a teacher in Long Beach, CA, who profoundly changed the lives of her students. The story takes place two years after the... Read More →

Each day being with my loved one whose husband is in hospice has brought me new ways to think about one’s passing, and loving him or her through it. Although it’s a road not easily chosen, to walk alongside the deeply hurting family member as well as the person soon leaving this... Read More →

Often when a person knows they have a limited amount of time left, he or she may plan exotic trips or want to try daredevil experiences. Being here with my loved one’s spouse whose every normal function is being diminished daily, I’m instead struck by the beauty of the seemingly... Read More →

I am currently in Dallas at my loved one’s side as she watches her spouse slowly slip away from the effects of brain cancer. As I have traveled here every several weeks over the past few months, it has been shocking to me how dramatically he has slipped, especially between the... Read More →

This year we have been blessed with one of the most beautiful fall seasons I can remember. The changing of the leaves seemed to have started even earlier than I remember from previous years, and only this week did we really have a storm that swept through with wind and rain to... Read More →

I recently heard an NPR interview of a school board member bemoaning the agitated climate at their meetings. He had served on the board for many years on and off so had quite extensive experience of serving during diverse societal times and over a wide variety of comings and... Read More →

I have written to you before about my belief in angels. Not only have I read about them, but I have experienced them in my own life. I have so many white feather stories! Several years ago, Sid and I were truly rescued by a couple of angels from a disastrous descent on Cadillac... Read More →

Home at last. Well back to Massachusetts at my sister’s for awhile before returning to our actual home in Maine. Our time abroad was so wonderful in so many ways. I had actually not anticipated our trip much beforehand. I had been preoccupied with so many issues that I was really... Read More →

Sid and I are continuing our trip this week with an amazing tour of Portugal. I am so impressed with the history of this small country. What a story of magnificence centuries ago with its early maritime and scientific advances before Spain gained supremacy. Portugal’s far... Read More →

Not sure what time it is back home as I write this, but at the moment Sid and I are sitting in a Starbucks in Dublin, Ireland. We had somehow accumulated an inordinate number of Marriott points which turned into a fully paid big trip which we would either use or lose if not used... Read More →

I recently observed two people carrying on a conversation through a plexiglass window at a bank. Granted, each had on a mask so it was not easy to understand what was being said. I realize in this era of masks how often I actually do aid my hearing by watching the other person’s... Read More →

I recently saw a video about Notre Dame Coach Charlie Weis’ promise made to a dying boy. The child was a huge Notre Dame fan and knew he only had a short time to live. He asked the coach if he could call that week’s game’s first offensive play since his hope was to be able to see... Read More →

HaShem has my number. When I seek Him, it is typically when I’m outdoors, in nature, and over the years He knows how to catch my attention. . . As you know, butterflies definitely have a place in my spiritual world communication hotline. I look at them as angelic messengers,... Read More →

Last week, I shared with you my recent time of burden, with hesitation actually, since these encouragements are not to be about me, but rather, intended to be relatable. Such was my hope. I shared how God met me where I was and pulled me out of that time of despair. In response,... Read More →

In these days, so often we feel we have reached our limit. And then something more happens to help us recognize our weakness even further, our need for God, our challenges becoming even more than we thought we could handle when we were already at our limit. When times of... Read More →