A meaningful life

High Holidays: I’ve been here before

I’m quite fond of Rabbi Raffi Asher of B’nai Tikvah in Walnut Creek.  I have known him a long time.  He is very tall and always seems to bend slightly forward to come closer to short people like me.  I like what he wrote about the High Holiday experience – I’m a fan of the film…

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9-11

Dear Chevreh, Rabbi Menachem Creditor shared these memories and thoughts on that Sept. 11, eight years ago.     I remember leaving class at JTS that Tuesday morning and going downstairs to move my car.  A friend was in the elevator when I got in and asked, “did you hear about the planes that flew into the World…

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Making the Most of Summer

What can you do to increase your enjoyment of SUMMER? Making the most of summer There are two things I propose you do this summer. The first is – spend meaningful time with your loved ones.  We have gorgeous weather, long days and lots of natural beauty.  The parks are open, the pools are open,…

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Call it what you will, you need a community

My daughter calls me “Mama” when she’s feeling especially affectionate or especially upset. So when I picked up the phone at 6am on a Sunday morning and heard, “Mama?” I knew things were not OK. Elly is in Israel on a Birthright* trip and her credit card had been frozen. Despite my calls to the…

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