We just completed a period of mourning in the Jewish calendar last week, the three weeks leading up to Tisha B'Av. Usually, we'd wrap up that period with an intense day of mourning, most of it spent at the Synagogue mourning the destruction of the Temples along with many other calamities that have befallen the … Continue reading Hidden Blessings in Difficult Times
In this week's Parsha, Yosef has dreams that he will be the greatest of his brothers and yet, he finds himself thrown into a pit and then wrongfully imprisoned on his way to greatness. There had to be times, in the pit or in the jail cell, that Yosef's dreams had to seem very far … Continue reading Yosef’s Dreams and the Faith Clinic
In this weeks parsha, poor Jacob goes through a lot of trials. First, he has to flee his home under threat of violence from his brother. Then, he sleeps on a rock and wrestles with an angel, earning him the name Israel and a wound he carries the rest of his life. When he does … Continue reading Vayeitzei, Cancer, and the Power of Laughter
When my children were babies, I used to catch myself staying awake even though I was exhausted just to watch them sleeping. I'd marvel at their perfection and I would have this feeling of not wanting to miss a single moment. I wanted to make time stand still and memorize every feature of them. Since … Continue reading Asher Yotzar and Watching Him Sleep
It's a word that cuts through all other noise, that stops one story and begins a new page. It's the word I was struggling to process this last Wednesday, as Mr. Safek lay drowsy in front of me. We'd come in for a colonoscopy to explain some symptoms he'd been having and we were leaving … Continue reading Cancer
