Elul 2: Seek

August 13, 2018

Rebbe Barukh’s grandson, Yechiel, came running into his study, in tears. “Yechiel, Yechiel, why are you crying,” asked his grandfather. His sobbing grandson explained,“I was playing hide and seek with my friend, but he stopped looking for me and left me alone.” Rebbe Barukh caressed Yechiel’s face, and with tears welling up in his eyes, […]

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Elul 1: Decide

August 12, 2018

I don’t know how it happened. I didn’t mean to neglect my blog. I never made a conscious decision to abandon it. That doesn’t mean, however, that I didn’t make a choice. By not making it a priority, I chose to find other ways to fill the time. In other words, not deciding is its […]

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When Imagined Real-Life Scenarios Mimic Real-Life

January 2, 2018

During my third year of rabbinical school, I discovered a deep and abiding love of rabbinic legal codes. The Shulchan Aruch, in particular. I think that a lot of it had to do with our professor. He was demanding. And exacting. And intimidating. And I learned more from him than any other professor with whom […]

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America’s Original Sin — Yom Kippur 5778

October 1, 2017

On March 31st, 1968, The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered an address at the National Cathedral. “There comes a time,” he said, “when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but he must do it because Conscience tells him it is right. I believe today that there […]

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Davar Acher: Finding God in a Quiet, Sacred Space

July 20, 2017

In reading Rabbi Harris’ wise interpretation on this week’s parashah, I was particularly taken by the quote by Nehama Leibowitz regarding the request by the Gadites and Reubenites to settle outside the land as a “dilemma between the choice of a career — personal advancement — or the fulfillment of a mission.” Like many parents […]

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