My favorite children’s museum is the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, named after American scientist and statesmen, Benjamin Franklin.
Honorable Mensch-ion
Rebuilding
Zoom is a gift that keeps on giving. At any moment of any day, with the simple click of a button, we can see and hear each other in real time. Over the last 18 months, we checked in with our neighbors, our friends, and our families. Yet, there is no substitute for the absence of presence that we have all longed for.
Gifts
I attended a shiva minyan this week. As I reflected on the life of a member of our community, I started to reread email exchanges we had during the last year. As we approached Chanukah, the clergy sent an email reminding our community that each member would receive a gift at their doorstep before they lit the first candle.
Out of Our Control
Yesterday morning, I received hundreds of emails and texts within a few minutes. It was difficult to comprehend what was happening. In these moments, you assume something wonderful or something terrible is happening. I quickly realized that my e-mail had been hacked and a message was sent to my contacts that I did not compose and had no control over.
Tents of Torah
On my three trips to Poland, I had the privilege of visiting Yeshivat Chacmei Lublin, the Taludic center of learning, just steps from the Majdanek death camp. This is also the house of study where Daf Yomi, the custom of studying a daily page of Talmud, originated before the Holocaust.
When We Grow Up
Pastor Craig Johnson is the Associate Pastor of Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas and founder of Champions, a special needs ministry dedicated to kids, teens, and adults. After Pastor Johnson’s son Connor was diagnosed with autism, he quickly recognized the unseen special needs population within the faith communities. While the church members complimented him on the wonderful children’s programming offered each Sunday during worship, he also realized the absence of any special needs families.
Jewish Summer
The Jews are not only a people of the book; they are a people of the calendar. When I explain this to those who are on a journey to Judaism, that each month of the Jewish year has either a commemoration or celebration (sans Cheshvan), I always receive looks of amazement. Yes, we will always find an occasion to laugh or to cry. When looking at the Jewish summer in conjunction with where and what we do as Jews, there is a bit of a contradiction.
Moving Up
We are a people that moves, never settling in one place. The word teshuva means return, indicating a sedentary lifestyle is not preferred within Judaism. This week, I had attended the Sinai Akiba Academy Moving Up ceremony. The 5th graders were moving up to middle school. Yes, they will be in the same building come September with the same group of friends and even the same teachers, but these were not the same children I taught on Zoom for the last 15 months. And these were not the same children I sang Bib-Bam and Shalom Aleichem with sitting on a pre-school carpet six years ago.
Mher, A Hero and Loyal Friend
Yesterday, I met a hero. He didn’t call himself a hero. He simply told me, “Rabbi, I am a loyal friend.” His name is Mher, an Armenian-Lebanese-Christian young man who was simply out for sushi with his Jewish friends in Los Angeles last week. What was going to be a quiet night of food and friends turned out to be a night we could never imagine–an anti-Semitic attack on Jews. While others looked on, Mher stepped up, both protecting his Jewish friends, and all the patrons at Sushi Fumi.
How Could Rabbinical Students Ignore Israel’s Right to Defend Itself?
I was aghast to read a letter signed by close to 100 rabbinical students– future leaders of the Jewish community who will serve in pulpits, on college campuses and within Jewish organizations– which shamefully ignores Israel’s right, let alone duty, to defend her citizens.
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