Porcupines, Silos and Light: Three Short Timely and Timeless Thoughts from the Late Great Rabbi Sacks, z’l This past fall, we lost a true giant in the world of Jewish thought and impact. Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, the Chief Rabbi of the UK and author of dozens of books.Rabbi Sacks had a gift for taking his incredibly vast trove of knowledge and being able to communicate it to all of us with both depth and meaning. Up until his passing, he was still writing, publishing Morality, this past fall. While one can spend years reading and rereading Rabbi Sacks’ words, I wanted to share three meaningful passages from this book that speaks to our time and our missions to make the world a better place. We, I and the Porcupine Dynamic In his book, he discusses a conversation between him and Robert Putnam, political scientist. Putnam has focused on how our society has moved from a We society to an I society. R. Sacks undergoes some research online on the subject. He writes, “The use of “We” is relativ
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Quick and Meaningful Post Election Inspiration from Uman Hitting my Spotify feed, I thought I would listen to some patriotic songs to focus on Election Day, but R. Yosef had other ideas. What showed up even before I could even get to "God Bless America" was a song with an incredibly important message from which we can all learn as we, on both sides of the political divide, move forward from this challenging week. The song by Yosef Karduner is about the Derekh Hashem, the path of God and the way that we can imitate God’s ways. The words are from R. Nachman of Brezlov quoting R. Chaim Moshe Luzatto. In the coming weeks, we are going to be teaching this Ramchal in school and learn -- emotionally, politically, socially and religiously -- how we can all grow with these lenses in mind. The words are below and they speak for themselves. ואומר רבי רבי נחמן מברסלב (ליקוטי מוהר"ן ח"ב, תורה יז'): "שדרך ה' יתברך להביט על הטובות שעושין, ואף שנמצא בהם גם מה שאי
To be as Abraham: Dust, Stars, Woodstock and the Rhythm of Tishrei This Yom Kippur I had the amazing opportunity to learn about Avraham’s blessing with a wonderful group of people as the day hit its midway point. In that covenantal blessing we learned that we will be like dust and also that we will be like stars. God tells him... כִּֽי־בָרֵ֣ךְ אֲבָרֶכְךָ֗ וְהַרְבָּ֨ה אַרְבֶּ֤ה אֶֽת־זַרְעֲךָ֙ כְּכוֹכְבֵ֣י הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם וְכַח֕וֹל אֲשֶׁ֖ר עַל־שְׂפַ֣ת הַיָּ֑ם I will bestow My blessing upon you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars of heaven and the sands on the seashore..(Gen 22:17) While this obviously refers to multitudes, there is a deeper lesson in these images. On the one hand, we are sand and on the other hand, we are stars. In thinking about it more, it occurred to me that these images are also ones that echo the lessons and the rhythm of the fall holidays. The Yamim Noraim, Yom Kippur and Rosh HaShana, are the holidays of the earth. It is on those days where we r
Fueling for Liftoff from the Garden of Eden July and August were not filled with the usual type of adventures this year. This year’s days of summer were filled with guidelines, memos, Zooms and more Zooms -- all focusing on a most different opening of school, one that we could have never imagined. Orders of plexiglass, sanitizers and new room arrangements populated the to-do list in this summer like no other. And as I sat on the floor this Tisha B’Av on that hot summer evening, once again, maybe the most famous line from Eichah stood out. חַדֵּשׁ יָמֵינוּ כְּקֶדֶם “Make our days new, like they were before.” (5:21) It stood out because the word chadesh, is one that we seem to be using a lot these days. So many are saying that it is a “new world” or a “new reality.” But in Fall 2020 the word “new” takes on a much more complex meaning than ever before. Chadesh has the connotation of newness, of hope and of abandoning a past chapter and moving forward to bright new beginnings. B
From Whyte Darkness to Brown Light: Tisha B'Av in a Summer Like No Other A common element of the religious psyche is that of reward and punishment. If you follow the rules, good things happen. And if you don’t, bad things befall you. Generations have struggled to understand the meaning and veracity of this concept as we all continue to make sense of the worlds we live in. There is one phrase that we often hear on Tisha B’Av that seems to be in sync with this idea about how things work. (:כל המתאבל על ירושלים זוכה ורואה בשמחתה” (תענית ל“ “All who mourn [the destruction of] Jerusalem will merit to see it in its joy.” (Ta’anit 30b) In the most simple reading, it is clear. Observe Tisha B’Av, cry over the Temple and you will be lucky enough to see it rebuilt with joy. Fast, scream and wail and you will, eventually, feast, laugh and dance. And while it would be easy if things were that clear, as we often know, it doesn't seem like things work out that way. Just doing th
“I Am Not Here to Be Right” A 14 Word Mantra from the Vulnerability Guru Guaranteed to Lead to Goodness This one stopped me in my tracks. On my morning walk, Brene Brown, most popularly known for her work on vulnerability, has become one of my favorite podcast companions. Her most recent “Unlocking Us” podcast discussed in an incredibly insightful way, the complex notions of shaming, accountability and humiliation.* Midway through the broadcast, she shared a mantra she often uses to focus herself on her goals when in challenging conversations: I am here to get it right, I am not here to be right. In the 37 hours since I have heard this quote, I am more and more convinced that if all of us actualized this advice, our personal lives, our religious lives, our political lives or our professional lives would vastly improve. In this time of COVID where our professional lives and the lives of our precious institutions have taken on increased challenge, every one of us has to int
