Rabbi Guzik - A Bisl Torah

As we flew home to Los Angeles from Philadelphia, we noticed a young girl sitting between an older man and woman.

Our family spent a morning playing Putt Putt. As someone with little patience during any kind of game, I am not an avid player. Unsure of whether it’s a universal rule, I was happy to learn that we’d have a limit of five turns per player before we moved to the next hole.

Another summer beach day. Sitting on the shore, I noticed two different kinds of people.

This week I finally have three kids under one roof. It feels as if summer can officially begin. As the three reunited, they ran outside to color the sidewalk with an array of chalk.

This week, our family spent a few hours at the beach. As we made our way to the sand, a woman was entertaining those on the boardwalk, singing lyrics from The Rolling Stones.

Our children are at sleepaway camp. So far, we haven’t received any letters in the mail. I sent each kid with pre-addressed, pre-stamped postcards. And each day, my husband and I visit the mailbox and stare at its empty container, a reminder that most likely, those letters aren’t coming our way.

I have a deep fear of bridges. More accurately, I’m scared of bridges that stand looming over large pools of water or busy highways. And in order to not extend my anxiety to the driver while I noisily breathe in and out, I request they drive as close to the middle barrier as possible (away from the ledge) and keep my eyes focused forward. Purely focusing on the end of the bridge.

Growing up in California, I can say with some expertise that heavy rain is pretty infrequent. And when that rain arrives, the “storm” usually shows up in the fall or winter months. But a summer shower is something I rarely see.

My morning ritual involves 15 minutes of uninterrupted coffee drinking, scrolling through emails and reading the news. On Wednesday morning, a few congregants had already reached out, asking me to check our front doorstep. Apparently, within the blocks surrounding Sinai Temple were strewn packages of hate mail. Ziplock bags blaming Jews for evil within the world and the use of typical antisemitic phrases and slurs. Our security is aware of this action and took appropriate steps to report such behavior.

It is the last week of school in our Sinai Akiba Academy community.