I have no opinion about North Korea’s aggressive actions. Ditto for the Wikileaks’ scandal. My lack of engagement is not because either of these is unimportant, but rather because they don’t rank as urgent in my daily life. If I don’t pick up my new granddaughter when she cries, I get immediate and loud feedback...
We parents have an annoying habit. There might be a few lone parental souls who don’t do this but I certainly do and so do all the mothers and fathers that I personally know. We tend to repeat certain phrases. This is not an unconscious habit like a nervous tic. It is deliberate. After all,...
My wife and I love receiving the thank-you notes a friend sends whenever she is a guest at one of our Shabbat meals. Unlike typical thank-you cards, hers detail the experiences at our table. She mentions the delicious food, the scintillating conversation, and the stimulating company. (I am quoting from a recent note she sent!)...
The past few weeks have been a true period of blessing for our family. Just over a week ago our daughter, Rachelle, and her husband, Zev, presented us with an enchanting granddaughter. While my husband and I dislike being apart, for the second time in less than a month we are miles from each other...
It was profoundly disturbing when a member of my congregation told me that he didn’t care that his father had just passed away. They had been estranged for years, he explained. For my part, I encouraged him to observe the traditional mourning routine, but my words fell on deaf ears. During the following six years...
By nature, I am not impulsive, but when my youngest daughter’s college lecture was cancelled last Wednesday and I had no urgent deadlines to meet, we hit the half-price ticket booth in Times Square. A few hours later, we were ensconced in fantastic seats watching the Broadway show, Wicked. The last Broadway show I...
This blog from just over a year ago, wrote itself. I was enraged and sickened by the events described. I still feel that too little attention was paid to the outrageous behavior that took place. May God comfort the families of those killed or injured, may He keep our troops from harm, and may He make us...
“Do you have any questions for me?” I asked the applicant for a position in my organization. “Yes,” she responded. “How many vacation and sick days do I get each year?” Needless to say, she got none from me. There is a right way and many wrong ways to interview for a job. The right...
I am not a silent reader. I respond audibly to my reading material, either sharing it aloud or else groaning or cheering as the case requires. Had you been in my neighborhood when I read a recent article on children’s television in the Wall Street Journal, you would have first heard a moan followed closely...
During 1969 many young people gathered at rock music festivals at Woodstock in upstate New York and at Altamont in Northern California. Both events were as much about sex and violence as about music and despite the veneer of innocuous love, both had a dark undercurrent. Rapes, brutal beatings, numerous injuries and countless concussions were...
