What question will guide your New Year’s resolutions this year? What will be the focus of your self-improvement plan? Maybe…
Year: 2015
A Christmas Midrash
Christmas season is in full swing. Decorations are everywhere. Sometimes people ask if their ubiquity bothers my Jewish sensibilities. Not at…
Kabbalah by the Numbers
On the fourth day of Hanukkah, I accompanied a prison chaplain as she offered holiday programs at two medium-security institutions. Numbers matter…
Should we pray for peace?
For a time, the Talmudic hero Rabbi Meir was targeted by local thugs. He prayed for them to die. His wife…
Inner Dark, Inner Light
Hanukkah: a time to enjoy family, friends, songs, rich foods, parties, gifts, and games. To share story and history, to be both…
Hanukkah's Casual Violence
Hanukkah is coming. It’s time to tell stories about armed resistance against oppression. Children will read about the five brave…
Thanksgiving Peace, Jacob Style
Sim shalom! Grant peace! These words begin the final section of the Amidah, standing silent meditation, in the daily Jewish…
A Precious Resource: Found at Durga Puja
We came to the Laxmi Narayan Hindu Mandir (Temple) in Surrey, Canada, expecting to see unfamiliar religious practices. But, as…
Isaac and Ishmael
Five weeks ago, I was invited to a multi-faith Eid Al-Adha dinner at Baitur Rahman Mosque in Delta, to socialize…