Shabbat Inspiration with Diane

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 difficulties affected others as we would notice their avoiding each other, and unfortunately, talking about each other to those around them. As some of us were being drawn into the drama, and as one of them now is facing life threatening illness, I wondered if I could help. So I tried to aid their reconciliation by urging them to try to talk it out. Perhaps some of the misunderstandings were clarified as we processed... 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 recite the Haggadah at our seders. But passing over is not always a good thing, such as being passed over for a promotion. Or Sid will joke that the chocolate chips in that ice cream were passed over at 1000 feet, like hardly any were there. Perhaps a more serious passing over occurs when we fail to dig into life. One of my dearest friends lives life in that space, not digging in too deeply. She has had some... 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 my readers of last week’s encouragement raised so many thought provoking insights, one to further explore as she put it is, “the elephant in the room”, that is, the failure of our society to properly identify and serve the needs of our mentally ill. In addition to the mass shootings, she ruminated on the heart breaking suicides of young people, the choices sometimes made that set young lives down dark paths in... 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 exclusive on this subject of headlines too painful to compartmentalize. When these times happen we pull out all our usual cope mechanisms, strong faith in God, of course, the primary source of our strength. Yet just as Yeshua brings the connection to us intimately, so too, we sometimes need to process further to make the divine solace tangible. No matter what the motivation for this terrible loss of eight lives,... 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 the deepest insights in her spiritual journey, I was prompted to reflect back on this challenging time period as well. Clearly these past 12 months have been inordinately difficult societally, and for many of us personally as well. As we struggle to comprehend the reality of the loss of over 530,000 individual lives, these past twelve months have also spurred more inward reflections. As the simple tasks became... 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 Texas and elsewhere. I awoke last Shabbat morning to a story from the Texas Tribune about an 11 year old boy from Honduras who gleefully saw his first snow on Sunday and then died two days later from the extreme cold with no heat at his new home in Texas. News of hitting the five hundred thousand Covid deaths marker on the same day that I Facetime with my grandbaby – how do we live with such seemingly daily... 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. Today we’re in Florida and will be here for the next several months. My first jog on the beach this year brought forth waves of thoughts, literally, as I watched His glorious artistry at work beneath my feet. For those who have noticed when walking along the ocean’s shore, the waves are limitless, an infinite, always changing array of sizes, some more forceful, some more delicate, occasionally surprisingly far... 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 sometimes source of our hurt and can only choose how we handle it. I have had months now to process the departure of my 38 year old emotionally fragile daughter who left for California without a trace. I’ve experienced and sometimes shared the gamut of emotions and perspectives. Today I’m more deeply settled into the reality that she is living her life as she chooses to live it, a hard viewpoint to accept for a... 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 weeks. We have a small place down there near my cousin and as God has led, there have been so many reasons the decision to have a second home down there was no coincidence. It has been the place of reconciliation with my father’s side of the family over the past several years as well as most recently a place of comfort and joy as my cousin and I face her medical challenges together, not to mention a closeness we... 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 challenges, it’s easy to forget to be grateful for what we have been given. Our RV is in the shop for weeks with a large bill to anticipate, not to mention our plans to leave for Florida have been significantly delayed. How grateful that I can stay longer in New England and spend time with my sister as she and her family move to a new home and could use some extra hands for packing and unpacking. So much to pack and unpack!!... 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 at this time. This week’s inauguration proceedings also emphasized the power and importance of God in proper leadership. I loved the opening pastor’s reference to God as the “Holy Mystery of Love,” for His overwhelming love of us and His teachings grow our abilities to love unconditionally. Its presence is a mysteriously inscrutable reality. We receive this power to love from HaShem. God was present in multiple... 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 good times and inevitable tough times, too. Yet this rather lengthy season has been different. Many of the little day-to-day tasks we didn’t even have to think about have become exceptionally difficult, not to mention when we have events in our lives that would be hard anyway. Nothing seems easy any more, or at least many routines are not routine. My work life has been unusually stressful for multiple reasons for... 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 difficult to recognize, and deal with, toxic relationships. As people who walk so closely with Yeshua, and work to do so on a daily basis, my go-to is to forgive, seek peace, be open and accepting, put my needs last. For me, as I’ve shared before, these traits even were part of my wiring before I found Yeshua as a result of my childhood where being a parent pleaser and peacemaker were tools of survival. So it has been a... 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 personal health or financial struggles of ourselves or loved ones. When we are in the thick of it these situations feel like they’re only happening to us. So like Job. Why me, Lord? In fact, adversity is the human condition. We are not in Olam Haba. Over the year we’ve reflected that our personal perspectives and perceptions, molded by genetics and life experiences, define the perceived quality of our lives.... 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 this year with signs and wonders from HaShem that remind us of His presence, that He’s got this, that hope is real. Even in mainstream media the story of the “Christmas Star” has hit the headlines. This close conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter that occurred this week was the most brilliant close orbiting of these two planets since 1226. Some say a phenomenon like this, which at that time also included Mars, may... 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 face. Yet news of the increasing death toll from COVID is tempered by stories of hope as administration of the vaccines continues to expand. On the heels of our musically oriented thoughts over the past weeks, I once again share the thoughts below: Today the Nor’Easter is hitting us hard. From my window as I watch the strong north wind blowing the snow literally horizontally with its force, in the same view, I... 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 way is beyond wonderful, true healing to our societal soul. On the heels of the section of the Chagigah program that had just introduced Joshua Nelson , the host went on to discuss a unique characteristic of the incoming Biden administration. He noted that Kamala Harris’ husband Douglas Emhoff is Jewish, and that each of President Elect Biden’s children married Jewish people, so Biden’s grandchildren are Jewish.... 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 unique Jewish singer. Joshua Nelson is an African-American Jewish gospel singer born of Jewish parents. He was raised in Brooklyn, attended a black Orthodox Jewish synagogue there, and was later educated in Israel. He blends Hebrew texts with gospel melodies as well as arranges Jewish liturgical songs in gospel style. Joshua is equally comfortable teaching Hebrew at his Reform Jewish synagogue in South Orange, New... 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 surgery to remove a tumor from his spine. After long and grueling rehabilitation to learn how to walk again, he suffered a severely broken arm requiring complex surgery to place 19 pins and a plate, again setting him back for a long rehabilitation period in order to do even simple daily tasks. It was after this last health crisis that even he questioned his optimism and had to dig deeper, thus inspiring his most... 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, however, there were predicted a few colder days, and then a warming trend by the end of the week. As the weather reporter shared this forecast and noted disappointment in the cooling trend, the other newscaster commented “But it’ll be warming right back up there by the end of the week.” At the time, it felt like the other newscaster’s comment was dismissive of the weather person’s observations. Rather than an... 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 differences. In tweaking that further in analogizing families to societies, another truth is that often children in the same family have had very different life experiences. Unfortunately, one child may have been favored over another for a long period of time. In those cases its even more important for a parent to nurture respect and fairness between the children. It’s important for a parent to help a child see... 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 chaos after the Great Depression. The point being made was how Abraham Lincoln worked to bring our nation together as did FDR in the 1930s. Such behavior by our country’s leaders at those times is not unlike the role parents have when quieting their squabbling children. So often the little ones are unable to see the viewpoint of their sibling. Each knows he or she is right! The disagreements can lead to real... 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 I find hard to appreciate although in nature’s framework, quite beautiful, and important, I would suggest. Even if not, one of HaShem’s creations so who am I to judge? We easily can think about how beauty is subjective. A movie with a twist on this theme is “Shallow Hal”, a Farrelly brothers film, which comically portrays a hypnotized shallow Hal (Jack Black) dating a 300 pound woman but seeing her as Gwyneth... 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 becoming a lawyer. More importantly, fighting for justice for the other can impassion each of us in this world with so many reasons and opportunities to fight to right wrongs. And we often have to fight to see the good in others. Last week as I watched the town hall meetings between our two presidential candidates, and trying to not focus on politics for the moment, but rather, a bigger issue, I was most moved by... 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 on Thursday evenings. And actually, for the last ten years or so, they’ve been fairly constant. I’ve also found that when my life is hectic, stressful, busy, distracted, my time in that special space with HaShem is so interrupted that I just don’t feel the inspirations. As you know from last week, that’s where I am at the moment. The carve out times I have with HaShem have been amazing to lift me up, kind of... Read More →