Mifrasim מפרשים : Navigating our Lives as Role Models, Educators, Parents and Jews

Discomfort and Responsibility in the Houses We Live In:  A Blessing for Elul and the Opening of School  As we wind down the summer, many feel that at a certain point, we have had enough.  Enough of the travel, enough of being out and a feeling that it is time to go home.   In Elul, as we prepare for the chagim, we long for a spiritual return home as we recite Tehilim 27. (27:4)   אַחַת, שָׁאַלְתִּי מֵאֵת-יְהוָה--    אוֹתָהּ אֲבַקֵּשׁ שִׁבְתִּי בְּבֵית-יְהוָה,    כָּל-יְמֵי חַיַּי One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after:  that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life. As we enter into another house, the schoolhouse in the coming days, we do so with the hope that it will be a space for us for dwell in and achieve continued growth and learning.   As we enter this house in the month of Elul, I wanted to share three brief lessons from this month.  Elul is not the month of history, it’s the month of responsibility In this book ab

My 2018 Summer 12 Movie “Challenge” and 12 Short Lessons Learned One of the most important lessons in life is to embrace the stage that you are in.  A few years ago, when my children were still very young, I looked at my friends who had older kids jealousy.  They would talk about inspirational beach books or meaningful summer movies and I would only have read Dr. Seuss and watched Disney with my young ones.  I used to ask myself, “Will I ever have time to read a book or watch a movie for pleasure?” Now, this summer, I am embracing my stage and accepting what my friend calls the “Summer 12 Challenge.” Between Memorial Day and Labor Day, over that 14-15 week span, I have spent time on planes, in theaters and on Netflix with friends, family or on my own watching movies once a week or so. Here are the 12 from this Summer and a 1-2 sentence thought on each one.  They are in no particular order… Maktub-A fun movie that has everything-mafia, Israeli flavor, drama, humor, theology and