Last week I woke up to the devastating news that Michael, the younger brother of one of my closest childhood friends, had passed away. His death was completely unexpected and all the more tragic because he was literally ripped from this world. He leaves behind his loving parents, his sister, his brother-in-law, young nieces, and […]
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Southern Snow
This week we had our first (and last?) snow flurries in Atlanta. I was walking down the hallway to visit a teacher when I saw one, two, then 10 kids running by, throwing on their coats as they ran. Once they’d seen snow flurries outside their classroom window the teacher’s lesson plan was put on […]
The Perspective Gap
Working as I do at Reform Jewish day school there’s a phenomenon I encounter pretty frequently. I’ve started calling it “the perspective gap.” The perspective gap exists whenever two perspectives are so vastly different that the two holders of those perspectives can’t see what the other person sees. Why has working at a Reform Jewish […]
3 things too many Jewish people get wrong about Judaism
There’s a disconnect between Jews and Judaism. As a rabbi it’s frustrating because I know, for a fact, that the disconnect is based in part of some common misunderstandings that Jews have about Judaism. Here are a few… 1. Judaism encourages questioning. Forget Jews and Judaism, a lot of people reject religion in general because they are […]
Rosh Hodesh Adar
We’ve just entered the Hebrew month of Adar. In a few weeks we’ll celebrate the holiday of Purim. Purim is one of Judaism’s most complicated and interesting holidays. But this post is about Adar. The Talmud teaches that the onset of the month of Adar means that our “joy should increase.” It’s nice to be […]
Voicemail
Not unlike the handwritten letter, voicemail is quickly becoming a thing of the past. Leaving voicemail (not to mention checking voicemail) is a cumbersome task. You’ve got to push a few buttons, wait a few seconds, and then endure the sound of the human voice, all the while wondering how said human voice is going […]