Hear Our Voice

I don’t think I have felt this unmoored and simultaneously excited about the High Holy Days since 1994, when, as a second-year rabbinic student, I found myself planning for my first High Holy Days in Merced, California. Merced, they say is the gateway to Yosemite, but for me at that time, Merced just represented the gateway to “H” “E”, “Double Hockey Sticks.”

I remember a feeling of dread that was ironically...Read more...

Today is the 7th day of the month of Av.  In 2 days from now, the minor Jewish holiday, Tisha b’Av (the 9th of Av) will arrive and with it, an ancient encouragement to live our life differently that day in light of historical tragedies of the Jewish people.  It is taught that the destruction of the First and Second Temples, as well as the expulsion of the Jews from Spain, took place on this date.  It is a date that lives in...Read more...

Bottom line, the reason why we must declare, “Black Lives Matter!” is because for far too long our society has acted as if they don’t. And yes, I too have found myself barraged by emails and social media posts sharing the examples of BLM protesters, for reasons that still remain unclear to me, engaging in anti-Semitic tirades.  I don’t believe I have to offer you examples, if you are Jewish or express interest in Jewish causes...Read more...

And now a word from our sponsor…

I know that much of the “real estate” of this blog, of late, has been comprised of musings and analysis (hopefully more of the latter than the former) on important and salient current topics. While COVID and racism remain crucial issues that are framing much of our day to day experience, I thought it would be a good momentary detour to talk about Hebrew!  (Don’t worry, as I...Read more...

Mit in drinnen – In Yiddish, this means, “In the middle of everything,”  I don’t know if, for today, this refers to Racial Injustice and Protests in the midst of COVID-19, or as it has felt to me over the past week, COVID-19 in the midst of racial injustice and protests.  Whichever it is, this blog is a clarion call to us all that WE ARE NOT OUT OF THE WOODS with either.  I don’t need to articulate for you the stark...Read more...

I am writing this blog from 30,000 feet.  And I have to share that this experience, thus far, hasn’t been nearly as awful as some in the news media and many on social media are making it out to be.  From the moment I entered the Birmingham airport, most everyone was wearing a mask and by the time we got to TSA, everyone was.  The process was easier than it usually is, the line moved quite quickly AND we didn’t have to take...Read more...

“Wash your hands after going to the bathroom

Wash your hands after changing baby too

Cause you don’t want to spread hepatitis

And we don’t want hepatitis to get you”

I had never heard, or even heard of, this jingle until I heard Natalie sing it aloud, right about the time we had babies in diapers.  I think it was her subtle way of reminding parents, siblings, our nannies, of the...Read more...

God, Divine One, Force that animates us all, You are the One who calls upon us, your human partners in repairing the world, declaring to us, “Chazak v’amatz!”  “Be strong and resolute” that in our convictions, we are able to muster both the energy to call out the ills of our society, our communities, and ourselves, as well as the conviction, that even when facing harsh critique, we stand firm.  God, Source of all life, the...Read more...

For far too many Jews, Jewish families and those who love them, “Israel” has become a highly polarizing issue.  Positions driven by “survival instincts” set against the horrific history of anti-Semitism weigh heavily against positions driven by the “Prophetic vision” mapped out by Israel’s Declaration of Independence.  While the two shouldn’t have to be set against each other, too often politics favors the...Read more...

Dateline: Houston, TX

Indigenous Post Astros Depression or “IPAD” for short is striking a growing number of Houstonians. This is a disease quite different from the “Clutch-City; Choke-City Personality Disorder” that has often led to an overconsumption of ballpark peanuts.  “CCCCPD” causes those infected and often times, those in his/her proximity, to experience a feeling of instability, akin to seasickness.  One...Read more...