Image by Evgeni Tcherkasski from Pixabay I was trying to write a really good message about Hanukkah, and this amazing post by my SVARA teacher Maggid Jhos Singer landed in my mailbox. I could not possibly say any of it better than he did (and he really does talk like that!). Enough said. Happy Hanukkah, … Continue reading The Real Miracle of Hanukkah
Shame is the Fear of Disconnection
Image by thank you for 💙 👍 💬 from Pixabay “Shame is the fear of disconnection—it’s the fear that something we’ve done or failed to do, an ideal that we’ve not lived up to, or a goal that we’ve not accomplished makes us unworthy of connection. Here’s the definition of shame that emerged from my … Continue reading Shame is the Fear of Disconnection
Why This is a Good Time to Mask
Safe for travel! November is about to turn into December. Around here, there is snow on the ground and a chill in the air. Our Thanksgiving was in October, but the holiday parties have definitely started. People are gathering indoors, and the ventilation isn’t always great. Cue the same triple-demic we had last year - … Continue reading Why This is a Good Time to Mask
Is There a Scarcity of Blessing?
Image by M W from Pixabay First of all, my apologies for missing last week’s blog post - I went to a retreat with my rabbinical school early Sunday morning, and somehow it just didn’t get done. Nobody is perfect, not even me, but I’m back! I’m writing this on Saturday night, and my mind … Continue reading Is There a Scarcity of Blessing?
Holding On to Complexity
Image by Enrique Meseguer from Pixabay Life is non-binary, but it is human nature to want to choose a side. Black hats and white hats, good guys and bad guys. My country right or wrong, painting the humans on the other side of a dispute as the evil incarnate. It may be natural, but it … Continue reading Holding On to Complexity
It’s OK to Adjust to Your Needs
Image by Jill Wellington from Pixabay Sometimes we get caught up in our own expectations, and we need to be aware of what is actually important, and what we are just doing because we think we should. As you probably know if you follow me on any social media, I am quite addicted to running … Continue reading It’s OK to Adjust to Your Needs
A New Name
Truth gives life I have disliked the name my mother gave me for as long as I can remember. I tried talking with her about changing it one time during my childhood, and her reaction was such that it has taken me into my sixties to reconsider the issue. Can you imagine sixty years of … Continue reading A New Name
The Real Enemy
Image by Ralph from Pixabay Human conflicts are rarely simple, and few are more complex than the one we are seeing unfold before our aghast eyes right now in the Middle East. But it seems to me that the real enemy is one that we have been dealing with since the days of Cain and … Continue reading The Real Enemy
On Gratitude in Hard Times
Image by Jackie Ramirez from Pixabay As you read this blog on Wednesday, this week it has been Thanksgiving in Canada, Indigenous Peoples’ Day in the US, and Isru Chag, the day marking the end of the High Holy Day season, for most Jews in the Diaspora (Israeli and Reform Jews marked it on Sunday). … Continue reading On Gratitude in Hard Times
Reminding Us of Precarity
Our sukkah This week Jewish people around the world celebrated Sukkot - the Feast of Booths, in which we build a little hut, known as a sukkah, outside our homes and do our best to live in it for a week, given the vagaries of weather. Here in Winnipeg, we are lucky any year we … Continue reading Reminding Us of Precarity