Standing on the worn, white linoleum tile of Grandma’s kitchen, I wonder, Who has an all-white kitchen? White formica counter top with little gold flecks in it, white cabinets, a white Frigidaire, and an ancient white stove top. Despite the age of this kitchen, everything is spotless, hospital-room clean. When Grandma says with pride that Read more
Archives for September 2017
Driftwood
I am the driftwood
floating from where I’ve been
to where I long to return
Teshuva and the Release of Nightmares
A subconscious thought becomes explicit when it is articulated in speech. Things unspoken—and unspeakable—may have tremendous influence on one’s outward thoughts and feelings far beyond what we can ever be aware of. Until we can articulate the thought, and bring it into conscious awareness, we have no control over it. So it is with Teshuvah, and so it is with the Geulah.
Rosh HaShanah: A Tale of Two Beginnings
This essay about Rosh HaShanah explores the concepts of din and rachmim, and the interplay between the two. It will also give the reader a new meaning to the word “honeymoon”. Rosh HaShanah (literally, “the Head of the Year”) marks the beginning of the New Year, but also has has another role as the beginning Read more
Jewish Encounters in a Non-Jewish Land
Edinburgh, view from the castle It rains on our first day of vacationing in Scotland in August. After spending weeks in Israel where afternoon temperatures measured 105F in the shade on our Jerusalem patio, the drizzle is welcome. That first day we plan to tour the old castle of Edinburgh, which means being outside for Read more
Book Musings – The Body of Faith: God in the People Israel by Michael Wyschogrod
What does it mean when we say that human beings were created “in the image of God”. While some of the foremost Jewish philosophers, in particular the Rambam, saw Tselem Elohim as referring to the human capacity of reason, Michael Wyschogrod disagrees. His ideas tally in surprising ways with modern neuroscience.
This Year…Dare to Dream
Any goal fulfilled is the result of a series of steps taken through to the end. Here’s a fun and fantastic way to capture your goals for the New Year. All you need is a pen and paper—and a whole bunch of dreams.
My Life as a ‘Push Me – Pull You’
When we look at all our spiritual shortcomings, the task of fixing them all can seem overwhelming. But when we discover and cure the root cause behind them all they all fall away at once.
I’m terrible at being a SAHM Mum
I don’t have enough fingers to count the amount of times today that I yelled at my 3.5 year old to “just leave me alone, I’m trying to do something!” This kid, who is so aggressively extroverted and who has the imagination of a science-fiction writer thrown in a blender with a fantasy writer, just Read more