Our foundational narrative of moving from slavery to freedom begins with waking up and becoming present. In this week’s Torah portion, Moses tends his sheep in the wilderness, and he notices a bush that is on fire but not being consumed. The beginning of our liberation always starts with waking up. This week's Torah portion - Shemot - prefaces our Continue Reading
The Backstory: RENEW
Last month, the weight of the pandemic felt personally unbearable. A go-to strategy to relieve despair and renew my own spirit is to reach out to see if perhaps others can relate. I hopped onto Twitter with this simple question: “What is one word you’d use to describe your emotional state right now? Mine is ‘exhausted’.” No photo, no cute emoticon Continue Reading
Hold Both Truth & Joy
Rosh Hashanah 2019 This is the sermon I delivered on Rosh Hashanah at the Jewish Collaborative of Orange County. People asked to read it - so here it is: Rabbi Alan Lew, of blessed memory, writes that the High Holy Days season promises nothing less than total personal transformation - IF we do the work, and pay attention. Each of us should leave Continue Reading
Remembering What is Important
If there is anything the events of the past few months have taught us, it is that every day is a precious gift. We never know what is around the corner - pain or joy or both. How do we remember what is important? Many of us are bone-tired, whether from the endless political battles, personal traumas, profound natural disasters, and the resulting Continue Reading
the silence that speaks
Upon awakening the first morning in our new place, the very first thing I noticed was the deep silence. Instinctively I took the deepest breath I had taken in months. Until we moved here to Laguna Woods, I didn’t even realize the noise level in west Los Angeles. I had obviously gotten accustomed to the constant roar of the freeway and the city Continue Reading
