I love the weather, being out in nature, and the fact that it gets dark so late. I treasure being able to step back a bit from the hard pace of the year, rediscover passions, and strengthen friendships. I appreciate the chance to return to a true sense of self. But what I cherish most is the chance to reconnect to my family. Most years, when our kids get out of school, we take a family trip. Some years this means loading up the car and experiencing parts of America, other years we manage to journey abroad. In this time we bond in a way that is easily identifiable as profound, and perhaps even ‘holy’. Not that its ever easy (or quiet) to suddenly march to the same tune, all at the same time, on the same schedule. Personal space becomes a joke. It can get…intense. But gradually, and gladly, we begin to groove. And this unified rhythm sets the pace for us in a way that seems to sustain us for the rest of the year. Afterwards, we borrow what we have gleaned on … [Read more...]
Rabbi, What’s in a Challah?
We have our basic ingredients: flour, eggs, yeast, water, oil, sugar, and salt. We can even add chocolate chips, raisins, sprinkles, or food coloring — the options are limitless. But there’s more to a challah than her ingredients. There’s time: the time it takes to mix the ingredients, for the yeast to rise, and to knead the dough. There’s the time it takes to let the dough rise, and there’s the time it takes to braid the dough into a beautiful pattern. There’s the time it takes to bake the challah, and then, there’s everyone’s favorite part, the time it takes to eat the challah! More than time, there are the hands it takes to crack the eggs, the eyes it takes to measure the ingredients, and the taste buds it takes to decide whether or not we made a good batch. More than the senses, there is a spirituality to the challah. We’re making the challah for someone: for ourselves, for our family, or our friends. We’re thinking about who we have made challah with or cooked with in … [Read more...]
The Fading Rainbow
It’s been raining for the past two weeks, and with each downpour, I’ve been twisting my head and turning my neck, looking for a rainbow — storm after storm, and I wasn’t having any luck. Then, on Monday night, Rabbi Max and I were driving home from dinner and I finally twisted my head and turned my neck to see THE MOST BEAUTIFUL RAINBOW. Her arches formed over a golden, violet, and deep blue sky. My jaw dropped as we drove, we made a turn, and then suddenly we were able to see the entire arch of the rainbow. With eyes wide, I began to recite the blessing we have the honor to say upon seeing such a marvelous wonder: Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu melech haolam, zocher hab'rit v'neeman biv'rito v'kayam ma-amaro. Blessed are You, Source of Eternity, who remembers, is faithful to, and fulfills Your covenant with a promise to creation. Seeing a rainbow is a reminder that God is in relationship with us, but not just the “us” of the Jewish people. Sure, the rainbow reminds us of … [Read more...]
Can you perform a mitzvah with something stolen?
Alternatively, we could ask whether or not it is allowed to do something that is good or holy while also doing something illegal or spiritually harmful. In the Talmud the rabbis ask this question around a stolen etrog, the lemon shaped fruit used on Sukkot. The rabbis ask whether or not a stolen etrog may be used in the rituals of the holiday. Even though this particular case doesn’t come up often (or ever) in our daily life, the principle is valid everyday. In this week’s parasha, Hukkat, Moses and Aaron are charged with retrieving water from a rock in the desert. Both of these leaders are fed up with the bickering of the Israelites, and in a fit of anger, Moses disobeys God’s instructions for pulling water from a rock. God tells Moses to speak to the rock, and the rock would give forth water; instead, Moses strikes the rock, twice, and the water still comes out. Undoubtedly, giving water to thirsty people in the dessert is a mitzvah (both a good deed and a commandment), but Moses … [Read more...]
Upon Hearing a Siren
Earlier this week, I was jolted awake from a dead sleep at 1:10 a.m. by the piercing sound of my smoke detector. This was not the annoying beeping sound those detectors make when you burn the salmon on the cast iron skillet, no, this was the most terrifying, loud, screech that ensured that if something were wrong, I would wake up. This sound blasted through the apartment because the fire alarm in my section of the complex was ringing through the halls. As I gathered some things to exit the apartment, I finally got my breath back, and my first thought was, “I hope everyone is okay, let everyone be okay.” I was undoubtedly holding some other feelings at that moment as well, but I was almost relieved that this was my first reaction, because I don’t believe it would have been my first thought a few months back. However, I had recently studied a teaching by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, also known as Reb Zalman, and a founder of the Renewal movement. He suggests that when we hear a … [Read more...]
