Listen to an audio version When I was a boy in the 60’s my two favorite cartoons were the popular Flintstones and Jetsons. While Hanna-Barbera Studios produced both, the Flintstones was “the modern stone-age family” while the Jetsons was the…
Tag: Peace
Tetzaveh – The Sweet Aroma of Prayer
Listen to an audio version I cannot recall ever smelling incense burning in shul. In my mind, such practices seemed to belong categorically to Roman Catholic or Orthodox churches, or to Buddhist shrines. Most of my own experiences with the…
Vayishlach – Facing Fear
Listen to an audio version Courage has many faces. It can mean saying no to compromise, or it can mean making a difficult compromise. It can entail dying a heroic death or living through terrible pain. It can mean fighting…
Sukkot – Finding Shelter in a Transient World
Sukkot recalls that freedom came as the result of pitching tents over 14,600 days and honors the 43,000 meals prepared in the dessert. But more importantly Sukkot reminds us that God is everywhere and undermines the idolatry of rootedness. This…
Matot – A Place of Refuge
This week’s Torah portion contains a theme that in the ancient world was peculiar to the religion of Israel – the compassion, care and grace of their patron God. A historically popular approach to theology is to bifurcate of the…
The Lamb of God; Dayenu
Listen to an audio version At the each Passover Seder just prior to the second cup of wine we sing Dayenu (lit. It would have been enough) a song that recognizes each of God’s beneficent gifts to Israel. After the…
Vayakhel – Come Together
Listen to an audio version We have a highly practical society that prides itself on efficiency. As a result we have gadgets that save time and labor, facilitate communication and raise our standard of living. Therefore we can watch…
Lech Lecha – It’s About the People
In April 2003, on the eve of the Second Gulf War, I attended a forum of four Nobel Peace laureates. Though the United States invasion the next day proved to be misguided, the words of Elie Wiesel that evening stood…
Ki Tavo – Lessons From The Storm
The events of the past years have caused me to think a lot about the fragility of our world. The events of the past several weeks have caused me to feel even more distressed about the fragility of life itself.…