Exile Redux
You are all probably familiar with the Chinese expression “May you live in interesting times.” We live in what are probably the most interesting times that any of us ever have, especially those born after WW II. We have all heard the words: ‘unprecedented, unreal, surreal’ and so forth. As Americans, we are simply not…
No Choice
While Standing (Six Feet Apart) On One FootApril 14, 2020 I am at the point in this pandemic that I need a haircut. SaraAnn wants to experiment dyeing my hair. I don’t think I will go that route. Stella is adamantly against it. I lost that vote, for sure. But the truth is that my…
Be Quiet, Simply
While Standing (Six Feet Apart) on One LegApril 13, 2020 Thousands of Americans are dying each day from COVID-19. No matter how upbeat any politician is, things aren’t getting better anytime soon. We are stunned into silence and each of us is going to pick up the pieces in our own way. Now I know…
Fertile Ground
While Standing (Six Feet Apart) on One FootShabbat Pesach April 11, 2020 There is not a lot of good to find in the middle of a pandemic. 20,000 dead, 500,000 ill represents a shared grief on a national scale that will be remembered as pivotal moments in most our lives. The devastation around the world…
A Perfect Seder
While Standing (Six Feet Apart) on One FootPesach Day OneApril 9, 2020 In Greek philosophy, Plato describes a strange concept that grows more appealing to me every day. It is called the ‘world of forms.’ Bear with me. You are probably sitting on a chair. It is easily identified as a chair. And yet there…
Feeling Pesach
While Standing (Six Feet Apart) on One FootErev Pesach – April 8, 2020 Why is this night different than any other night? When we ask that simple question, the answer this year can be either, ‘Where do I begin?’ or ‘Oy! Where have you been?!’ No one, and I mean no one, is ever going…
The Important Sermon
While Standing (Six Feet Apart) on One FootApril 6, 2020 My daughter was ambling through one of the open air markets a couple of months ago (BC – Before Covid!) and she found a gift for me. It is sitting on my desk in the temple office. It is mug and on it is written,…
Cruel Irrelevancy
While Standing (Six Feet Apart) on One FoodErev Shabbat, April 3, 2020 The Israeli Chief Rabbinate just issued a halachic ruling about Zooming on Pesach. It can be distilled to one word: forbidden. But, of course. Their logic, though, is fundamentally correct. Since no lives are endangered if you don’t Zoom and have a virtual…
At Gehinnom’s Table
While Standing (Six Feet Apart) on One Foot April 2, 2020 I am frustrated and angry. There is a well-known Hassidic tale that goes like this: ‘What will it be like in the world to come? It is said that evildoers would be punished by not being able to bend their arms. The chasid queried…
A Quiet Act of Rebellion
While Standing (Six Feet Apart) on One FootApril 1, 2020 Pirke Avot, the important sayings of our Sages said this some 1800 years ago: Rabbi Levitas a man of Yavneh said: be exceeding humble spirit, for the end of man is the worm. Humility is the characteristic of a wise and good person. In times…
