It was only mid-morning, but already plenty warm in the fields. Papaya plants stood tall in long rows, and the sun cast heavy shadows through their broad leaves. We gathered for a lesson before getting to work digging irrigation ditches, and the agronomist explained how the peasant farmer who owned the field had recently begun… [Continue Reading]

As a rabbinic student, I had a great privilege: to be among the first to lead services from the new siddur of the North American Reform Movement. The leadership and congregants of the Union for Reform Judaism had decided that Gates of Prayer, after three decades of use, no longer met their spiritual needs. An… [Continue Reading]

My father had a little brown kiwi bird that sat inconspicuously on his desk. It was made of blown glass, a gift from a client. That kiwi always fascinated me, and I remember staring at it when I came to visit my father in his office. It was too fragile for a little boy to… [Continue Reading]

I’ve been thinking a lot about my great-grandmother, recently. My paternal grandmother’s mother was the little woman who, once widowed, sold the family business and land, and moved herself, her six children, and her two parents from Minsk (now Belarus) to Canada. Her husband had visited North America, but didn’t like it and decided not… [Continue Reading]

You get back just as much as you put in. It’s as true in dancing and loving as in life: the better we prepare, the more we commit ourselves, the more honest we are, the more satisfying an experience we’ll have. Sheepishly bobbing your head on the sidelines isn’t nearly as much fun as letting… [Continue Reading]

I would like to thank you, Beth Shalom, for the overwhelmingly warm welcome you’ve given me in the weeks since my return. You have greeted me with such joy and affection, and I am grateful. You met me at the airport, you stocked my fridge, sent me cards and flowers, made me posters, gave me… [Continue Reading]