Happy Earth Day!!
While we wish that we could have given the Earth its birthday gift under different circumstances, we should all be proud that the Earth is having such a refreshing, rejuvenating, and restorative day following a...
Ready to lead a live seder on Zoom!
My seder table. Image on top: How I am set up to lead on online Zoom seder for more than 100 participants!...
Why I’m Self-Quarantining for Fourteen Days, Why I Urged My Synagogue to Close, and Why You Should, Too: A Reflection on Leadership
My head is swimming, and it has been for many days. It’s hard to keep straight so many conflicting yet intertwined realities. What is my role as a leader? As a house guest? As a...
Speaking at Milwaukee Strong: A Vigil to Unite & Heal
I had the honor and privilege of representing the Wisconsin Council of Rabbis alongside a dozen other faith leaders and numerous local and statewide elected officials at tonight’s vigil outside Milwaukee City Hall in memory...
My Trip to Israel: Seeing a Man Who’s Bought Fruits and Vegetables
“What did you do?” “Where did you go?” “What did you see?” These are the natural and anticipated questions. Over this past winter break, I had the joy and privilege of being in Israel with...
Bart Starr, the police, and genuine kindness
Bart Starr is quoted as teaching, “You can tell the true measure of a man by how he treats someone who can do nothing for him.” Just a couple of days ago, I had parked...
Kindness can Overwhelm Hate
Acts of kindness like this one by Jamario Howard don’t put an end to hate and horror (furthered by the attack at a synagogue in Poway, California), but they’re a start — and something that...
No longer my spiritual home
I remember my first trip to Israel, the summer before I turned ten years old. As I was heading via sheirut (a shared cab in Israel) to the airport to return home to Milwaukee, I remember crying,...
Growing, Cutting, and Donating my Hair: A Reflection
Pride, Pressure and Principle: A Reflection on My Eighteen Months of Growing, Then Cutting, Then Donating My Hair My unintended personal journey began almost four years ago, when I was then the Associate...