Judaism
Holy Shit
I thought: What would the rabbis say about the giant inflatable colon? As a colon cancer survivor, will I ever see shit as just shit again?
This Way to the Gas Chambers, Ladies and Gentlemen (Auschwitz 2003)
It occurred to me that one is always imagining how one could live in Auschwitz. But almost everyone died in Auschwitz.
Blossoms (Hadeish Yameinu)
How do I reclaim a holiday of liberation when I feel like I’ve spent the last year entrapped by a frightening cloud of uncertainty?
Happy Birthday, Gordon and Poland!
It’s Gordon Haber’s birthday, and he’s giving you a gift. Several years back, we published his brief dispatch from Poland called “The Only Jew For Miles.” I noticed very quickly that marble is hard on the knees. Presumably, that was the point–a Christian pilgrimage is supposed to have some echo of Jesus’ agony. But I…
A Playlist for Seekers and Doubters
Music has consistently been a vehicle for my ponderings and prayers about and to the Divine, or lack thereof. These are a few songs that have stuck with me, organized by theme. Questioning “Doubting Thomas” – Nickel Creek The title is a dead giveaway. This plaintive tune ponders what plagues many when at the crossroads…
The Praying Habit: Jewish Week!
I think I chose to attempt Jewish prayer my last week of this project because I subconsciously hoped it would be the most spiritually rewarding. I should have known better. I’ve found that anticipating or hoping for spiritual fireworks leads to the exact opposite: boredom and sometimes even frustration. So why did I have these…
Over the Rainbow
Gay Argentinians’ views on marriage, legal or not, are still shaped by forces beyond their control.
The GOP attack on Dems Jerusalem platform isn’t about the Jews…
It’s about Christians. In case you missed it, the Democratic Party dropped its longstanding insistence that Jerusalem is and will be the capital of Israel, despite the fact that most of the world doesn’t recognize it as such. Why not? Oh, the fear of setting off a never-ending, apocalyptic war. But for some of us,…
The Hazards of Chanukah
The psychiatric hospital where I work as an interfaith chaplain has a strict holiday policy: no flammable objects and no decorations with cords on the locked wards. That means no lights on Christmas trees, battery-operated Menorahs, and tea lights How to teach preschool children for Sabbath candles. Last week, a group Jewish high-school students came…