As this past week was Purim I wanted to share one of my favorite Purim stories from the Talmud. This is the story as told from myjewishlearning.com:
"Rabbah and R. Zeira got together for Purim Seudah (the feast on the afternoon of Purim). They got very drunk, and Rabbah got up and cut R. Zeira's throat (literally, Rabbah butchered him). The next day, Rabbah prayed on R. Zeira's behalf and brought him back to life. A year later, Rabbah asked, "Would you like to have Purim Seudah with me again this year?" R. Zeira replied, "One cannot count on a miracle every time." (Megillah 7b)

Purim is a holiday of costumes and masks. Masks are an interesting item. They can help us express ourselves or hide who we are from the world. Either way they are a conduit for communicating with the outside world. Masks can allow us to be forgotten or can leave an indelible mark on those who view them. We wear masks all the time. Not just physical ones but spiritual ones as well. What is it your "masks" are communicating to the outside world? Are you hiding or leaving your mark?

For the past few weeks on Sunday morning I have been working with the kids on active listening. I have asked them to do a special exercise whenever we get to the Shemah. I ask the kids to pair off. I have one child be the talker and the other the listener. The listener is not allowed to say anything in response to the talker. After a minute I have them switch.

This past week I was in Maryland for a training called the Brickner Fellowship. The Brickner Fellowship is a collection of clergy who apply and come together to learn how to bring social justice planning and programming to our communities. I learned a lot this week and look forward to sharing the many conversations and sessions I had with you over the coming months and years. For now I would like to share with you the final teaching of the weekend from the book of Ecclesiastes chapter 4:

What makes a person's life meaningful?  Is it the acquisition of objects? Or is a meaningful life found in things like getting married, having children, getting a good job and buying a house?  The answer is yes, but only if one criterion is met in achieving these things.  I propose that this criterion is found in looking forward in time and answering a simple question:  Did I take advantage of these moments to understand and experience them as sacred opportunities when they were presented to me?

With Biennial 2017 a recent memory and Biennial 2019 two years away (December 11-15, 2019 to be exact). I thought it appropriate to share some of the great quotes from this past year's Biennial experience that our delegation walked away with...

Recently I received a survey from a Jewish organization. One of the questions asked, "What are you most worried about for the future of the Jewish people?" My response was nothing. I wrote that rather than being nervous about the Jewish future I was excited by it. I am excited to see how we as a people will evolve. I am excited to see how we face the challenges both seen and unseen ahead. I am excited to see how the story of the Jewish people unfolds.

This week I was fortunate to attend a lecture at Yale on Grace and Gratitude. The lecture was held at Yale divinity and was incredibly informative and interesting. However, it was also very theologically Christian. I left thinking of the word grace in Hebrew, Chen, and what grace means from a Jewish perspective. I found the following article online to be very helpful: http://ancient-hebrew.org/emagazine/058.html#biblicalword.

John Wooden, the basketball coach of the UCLA Bruins in the 60's, used to say that he never tried to rile his players up before a game. He always wanted them to be even keel. He believed that if you were riled up that eventually you would have an equal and opposite crash. For every high emotionally there is an equal and opposite low emotional reaction. Therefore he taught his players to aspire to have an even head emotionally.

Moses received the Torah from Sinai and gave it over to Joshua. Joshua gave it over to the Elders, the Elders to the Prophets, and the Prophets gave it over to the Men of the Great Assembly. They [the Men of the Great Assembly] would always say these three things: Be cautious in judgement. Establish many pupils. And make a safety fence around the Torah.