Blogs

Poke around the internet for five minutes, and you’ll find countless variations on the idea that diamonds, as stunning and resilient as they are, can only be formed under intense pressure. The message is clear: endure hardship, and you’ll emerge from your struggles with a crystalline perfection beyond imagination. Only by surviving immense burdens can you discover your resilience and transform into the brilliant gem you’re destined to...Read more...

The news is fresh and fragile, but it is real: a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, an end to the fighting in northern Israel and southern Lebanon, and the hope of an eventual homecoming for the displaced. There is so much to be grateful for this Thanksgiving Day weekend. Yet gratitude, as we know all too well, often comes into focus most sharply when we are intimately aware of the possibility of...Read more...

Dear Friends,

Given the past week and all that came with it, it is hardly surprising that the quieter, subtler things that took place at the same time may have gotten lost in the shuffle.  One example is the loss of Ella Jenkins, a lifelong and leading performer of children’s music.  She was often called “The First Lady of the Children’s Folk Song,” and lived to...Read more...

We do love the idea of a fresh start. New year. New resolutions. Unveiling the new you. As citizens of the 21st century, we are raised to love the notion of cutting ties with the toxicity or stagnation of yesterday. Modern culture encourages us to move into each new day with fresh perspective, to cut ties with mindsets, habits, and even people who are holding us back. In their place, we are encouraged to open ourselves up to new friends, new...Read more...

     It’s a chilly autumn day as I write these words.  The deep orange of the leaves against a brilliant blue sky animates my view.  So does the sukkah going up in our backyard, a step at a time.

     Sukkot always comes right on the heels of Yom Kippur, and because of that there’s a danger of the festival going by without the...Read more...