Old and new weave together in Akko’s old city. An adult driver, a teen cyclist and a child on horseback squeeze together through a narrow cobblestone alley. Construction workers with hard hats and electric tools restore a medieval Crusader fortress. But Israeli Jews and Israeli Arabs don’t weave so easily here – at least not…
Category: Animals
Morning in Akko
5:10 am. A beautiful tenor voice rings out in the darkness, calling me to wakefulness, if not yet mindfulness. The tune is a familiar Middle Eastern mode; the words are unfamiliar Arabic. A muezzin calls Muslims to prayer. I imagine the muezzin standing on the balcony of a nearby minaret, perhaps the one lit…
Lion's Journey
Disney’s The Lion King is part of our vocabulary at home. “Look harder.” (Rafiki) “There’s one in every family…two in mine, actually.” (Zazu) “I’m surrounded by idiots!” (Scar) With each phrase, we call to mind an entire scene. Bringing any scene into our conversation causes an instant reframe. For example, in The Lion King, the…
Random Feline Intuition
On Friday, I was thinking about the Shabbat morning service. Specifically, I wondered what I should say to introduce the Torah reading, Parshat Vayetze. My cat Koi walked across my computer keyboard. With his feet, he typed three characters: 232 That seemed as good a start as any. On my bookshelf, I found the book…
Ditto's Torah
Ditto: A Torah of Recognition Dvar Torah for Parshat Chayei Sarah Link to it here.
Bees: Torah's Warrior-Farmers
Animal Dvar Torah for Shabbat Bereisheet. Link to it here.
New(t) Inspiration
I’ve been worried about the newt. My feeding strategy has not appealed to him. With a fork, I scoop up some worms. I put the fork into the water. The worms hang at the surface and then gradually slip off the fork towards the bottom of the tank. The newt has just stood on his…
Dare to Pray
For a few days now, I’ve watched a tiny spider flash across my windshield. No insects live in my car, so I know this spider has been hungry. This morning I tried to save him. When he paused on the window, I pulled over to the curb. I grabbed my tools: a piece of paper…
Purpose
Once upon a time, Christopher Marley was afraid of insects. But now he realizes that if you kill them, and arrange their dead bodies in pleasing patterns, they are not so bad. He says he has a “driving passion to share my newfound perspective.” Christopher Marley has found his purpose in life. People often ask…
Beaver Bog
Our Sophia Street neighborhood includes a one-kilometer square area we call “the bog.” If you come looking for it by that name, you won’t find it. The bog is paved over. Asphalt roads, concrete sidewalks, poured home foundations and backyard gardens cover it. Regularly, the city of Vancouver spends hundreds of thousands of dollars to…