Last night I watched the documentary Satan & Adam. It resonated with me as a musician, as a rabbi, and quite simply as a human being. The film chronicles the unlikely relationship between two blues musicians who met on a street in Harlem. And much more. Here I’ll simply offer a few personal takeaways. Music […]
Shavuot: Receiving Torah
As Shabbat and Shavuot approach, I wanted to share a quick Hasidic teaching recounted by the great philosopher, Martin Buber. REVELATION EVERYDAY: The Kotzker Rebbe was asked: ”Why is Shavuot called (z’man matan Torah) ‘The Time that the Torah was Given,’ rather than ‘The time the Torah was Received?” He answered: “The giving took place […]
Spiritual Review: BlacKkKlansman
This week I finally had a chance to watch Spike Lee’s 2018 film, BlacKkKlansman. It was excellent. While I’m not in a position to offer a full review of the film, there are a couple of spiritual themes that really resonated with me and that I want to point out: The first theme that stood […]
Gratitude for the Tapers
I listen to a lot of Grateful Dead. Every once in a while, I pause to think about the fact that I can, with a few clicks on my phone, start streaming one of a thousand live performances from the Dead’s archives. This morning I was listening to Dick’s Picks Volume 16. It’s a show […]
ACC-GTM
I am so honored and excited to be performing a few of my songs with choir members from The Temple, Ebenezer Baptist Church, and Congregation Bet Haverim, at the opening concert of the ACC-GTM Convention later this month. Here’s a short article by Cantor Deborah Hartman explaining the context.
An Imam, a Priest, and a Rabbi
Earlier this week I hosted a panel discussion with interfaith clergy at The Davis Academy Middle School. The whole experience, from start to finish, felt very sacred. From our pre-huddle where we connected as colleagues and human beings to the discussion itself, which was driven by thoughtful questions from the students and deep listening. It […]