I looked up from the computer, wondering about the “thump.” Then I saw the robin on the patio — fluttering wings outspread, struggling to get up. Outside, through the gate, into the side-yard. “Are you okay?” I asked reflexively. She…
Tag: moments
All that we ever really have.
Exploring Mind
WHAT DIFFERENTIATES THE EXPLORER FROM other humans is his answer to the following question: “If you could experience something that no one else ever had, but the cost was your own life, would it be worth it?”
Pithyism #0
The future is an open hand; the past is a closed hand. What’s in between?
Focus: Israel
As the situation in Israel continues to develop, many are turning to the “local papers” for better coverage than that offered by CNN or (grf) the BBC. The following offer in-depth reportage and up-to-the-minute English-language breaking news:– Haaretz (left-leaning)– Arutz…
Omer’s Where The Art Is
“Meanwhile, we dig.” — Big X (Richard Attenborough), The Great Escape Pesach is over, the last of the matza crumbs have been vacuumed up, and our stomachs have finally returned to normal (or soon will). Now what? When we were…
Thanksgiving v. Thanks Giving
During the course of an online discussion of Jewish practice in the United States, someone asked the resident rabbi if it was “kosher” for Jews to celebrate Thanksgiving. His terse but memorable reply: “Sure — but we do that every…
eulogy
This is what I said about Jim at his funeral: When studying to be a rabbi, I learned a tradition that says one should begin every public discourse with a jest. So here?s Jim?s and my very favorite shared joke…
Two Towers, Two Tasks
FOR SOME REASON, THREE SIGNIFICANT dates fell out fairly close together recently: Sonoma’s first (?) 9/11 commemoration, Simchat Torah and the autumnal equinox. The first marks the end of American innocence; the second, the annual restarting of the synagogic Torah…
Trial By Fire Trainer
The first thing I noticed was that I couldn’t see or hear anything. And on top of that, I could barely breathe. My knees and hands already hurt from the rough steel floor. The hose I was helping to drag…
Yids With Lids
A recent poster to soc.culture.jewish.moderated was soliciting opinions from full-time kippa wearers for a paper she’s writing. I contacted her, and submitted the following responses to her questions: : Why do you wear a kippa? I began wearing a kippa…
Substitute Rav
While our chicken dinner is marinating in mmmm-good Kikkoman Teriyaki Sauce, and before I pop it in the oven: Friday night services went pretty well, I think. As I am not yet proficient enough with the Reconstructionist siddur to lead…
The Name’s Panim … P.A. Panim.
from a pre-Blogger blog One of the cool things about being a teacher is watching the students connect the dots I sprinkle, as happened Tuesday. Our previous class touched on Shabbat observance, and my kids expressed disdain at the possibility…