If this is August (or late July), then the High Holy Days are near! Every year I get calls and emails asking about where to go for the High Holy Days. Pretty soon you too will be thinking about this. What if you’re not affiliated, in an interfaith relationship and thinking of attending services –…
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When the student is ready
(Yoga class at synagogue) I have always liked these two teachings: “Make a teacher for yourself and acquire for yourself a companion.” Pirkei Avot/The Ethics of our Fathers 1:6 When the student is ready, the teacher will appear. Zen proverb Haven’t you notice that once you become interested in something new – a word, an…
Read More »Shavuot is coming
Shavuot begins next week Shavuot starts next week on Tuesday night, May 22. On that night many congregations and groups of congregations will hold late night (or all night) study sessions. It is traditional to study Torah all night on this anniversary of our receiving the Torah on Mt. Sinai. To learn more about the…
Read More »Find Your Place
This has been a week filled with wonderful moments. On Friday night a friend of mine had his adult bar mitzvah. My friend is gay and specifically chose Achrai Mot/Kiddushim as his Torah portion so he could speak on those very difficult passages in Leviticus. He was magnificent! But it was not just his chanting…
Read More »Will Your Child Have a Spiritual Life?
What do you think about giving your child a “spiritual life”? I was sitting in the pediatrician’s office last week and picked up a copy of Parents magazine. The April issue listed on its cover an article titled, “How to Nurture Your Child’s Spiritual Life.” The actual article is titled “The Gift of Faith.”…
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