Relationship
I’m sure you’ve had this experience. A child asks you for something and it often sounds like this, “Can I have some more lemonade?” And our standard answer, most often, sounds like this, “Sure. What’s the magic word?” “Can I PLEASE have some more lemonade?” We teach our…
101. Though joy is better than sorrow, Joy is not great; Peace is great, strength is great Not for joy the stars burn Not for joy the vulture Spreads her gray sails on the air Over the mountain; Not for joy the worn mountain Stands, while the years like water…
The book of BaMidbar picks up where Exodus left off. Our Israelite ancestors escaped from slavery in Egypt, successfully passed through the red sea, and received the Torah at Mount Sinai. The story is interrupted by the entire book of Leviticus, describing the responsibilities of the priests as they establish…
Check out these coins! Although it is a coin from the State of Israel, the notion of it goes back to this week’s Torah reading. As the parsha, Ki Tissa, begins, God instructs Moses to take a census of the Israelites. Well, really just the men above age 20. Essentially…
Gold and silver and brass. Blue and purple and scarlet. Plus precious stones and fine oil and fabrics and skins. As this week’s Torah portion, Terumah, begins, God presents a long shopping list to Moses. In the chapters that follow, there are pages and pages of construction details. The Israelites…
Respect different perspectives. Listen actively to the other person and try to understand the logic of their position. Never use force- physical or psychological. The only legitimate weapons are logic, argument, tradition, and persuasion. We’ll see the violation of this principle in our second example, in addition to Moses striking…
I recently read that “Although no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.” (Carl Bard) To me, this was the perfect reflection on this week’s Torah portion, Bereshit. Following the intensity of the High Holidays and…
Kol Nidre, Temple Chai, 2022 Tonight we begin our Yom Kippur journey. This time is a gift we give ourselves to renew and restore relationships that are in need of repair, and to forgive ourselves for our many imperfections. We began 40 days ago, on Rosh Chodesh Elul. By now,…
The number of days from the beginning of the month of Elul until Yom Kippur The number of days that it rained on Noah and the ark The number of days that the ark rested on the top of the mountain The number of days that Moses spent with God…
A couple of weeks ago, Ron and I were pondering a challenging situation, and he said something that I can’t stop thinking about. His comment was- “I don’t need to be right, I just want to be happy.” Personally, I so resist this wise perspective. I DO need to be…