Updated: 2012-08-31 14:22:37
I clear my throat in the silence of the sanctuary. Eyes closed, I offer the following: The Baal Shem Tov -- regarded as the founder of Hasidism -- offered the following teaching about what to do when you are engaged...
Updated: 2012-08-28 14:32:06
Equanimity (השתוות / hishtavut) is very important. That is, it should make no difference whether one is taken to be an ignoramus or an accomplished Torah scholar. This may be attained by continually cleaving to the Creator -- for if...
Updated: 2012-08-27 14:47:40
This coming Shabbat at my shul we'll continue discussing one of my favorite books: This Is Real And You Are Completely Unprepared: The Days of Awe as a Journey of Transformation by Rabbi Alan Lew. I've posted about it several...
Updated: 2012-08-26 23:32:53
Late last week, I was forwarded links* to two Republican organizations trying to shame Rabbis for Obama by mis-representing several of the rabbis in that group (particularly Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb) as "anti-Israel activists." Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb first traveled to Israel...
Updated: 2012-08-26 22:18:28
This is a draft of something I'm hoping to make available at my synagogue during High Holiday services. It's loosely based on something I remember reading when I was an undergrad. I welcome responses, comments, and suggestions. Have you ever...
Updated: 2012-08-21 23:05:02
The envelope was surprisingly small and decorated with stamps. Inside was a copy of a wee chapbook of poems, Fallow by Susannah Dainow. I started reading it with a pile of mail wedged beneath one arm, walking from the post...
Updated: 2012-08-21 22:04:28
Four years ago I spent the summer in Jerusalem. When I got home, my shiny new ברק אובמה ("Barack Obama") sticker was waiting for me in my mailbox; it went on my car post haste. I've sported it proudly ever...
Updated: 2012-08-21 16:00:51
This week we're in parashat Shoftim, late in the book of Dvarim (Deuteronomy.) This parsha is the source of one of the most well-known verses from Torah: "Justice, justice shall you pursue!" In this parsha we read: establish towns where...
Updated: 2012-08-20 12:00:00
We've recently entered into the month of Elul, the lunar month leading up to the Days of Awe. The name Elul can be read as an acronym for Ani L'dodi V'dodi Li -- "I am my Beloved's and my Beloved...
Updated: 2012-08-19 12:00:00
Here's the d'var Torah I gave yesterday at my shul, crossposted to my From the Rabbi blog. See, this day I set before you blessing and curse: blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God which I...
Updated: 2012-08-17 12:00:00
VR Podcast Episode 4: Elul and Teshuvah. Tomorrow we enter the new lunar month of Elul -- a perfect time for a new VR Podcast! In this episode of the VR Podcast I talk about the lunar month of Elul,...
Updated: 2012-08-15 15:26:15
I'm delighted and honored to be able to say that one of my mother poems appears in the latest issue of CALYX, a fantastic journal dedicated to publishing womens' work. Here's their stated mission; here's some of their remarkable history....
Updated: 2012-08-09 14:47:32
There's an Anne Sexton poem which a friend shared with me some time ago, and which has been sitting in a file on my desktop ever since. I open it from time to time, and reread it, and am reminded...
Updated: 2012-08-08 12:00:00
Two years ago, when I first served as cantorial soloist at my shul alongside my friend and colleague Rabbi Jeff Goldwasser ("Reb Jeff"), we put together a cd of some of the melodies we'd be using during the chagim and...
Updated: 2012-08-07 23:23:35
The kind folks at Progress Planet interviewed me recently about life, my blog, and my hopes. Here's a taste: PP: What are your personal goals for your blog? What do you hope to achieve with it? RB: I hope to...
Updated: 2012-08-07 17:28:38
I settle you with animated friends and swirl my summer tallit up and over to wrap my face, tinting my world silky blue. My intention is the deck, but when you catch sight of me you ask "Want to stay...
