Recent Posts

  • Back There, Akara, and Belonging
    Leavings are a big part of Genesis. Not yet polished thoughts
  • wooden planks, some broken, some with building possibilities
    Friendship and Covenant
    Imagery of Abraham as “God’s friend” offers a path for exploring relationship with the divine and the Torah reading cycle ahead
  • sheaf of wheat, image for decoration
    Where now?
    Collapse series, begun before Elul, closes with a seed for new year which has already thrown us so much.
  • Incense rising, just wisps of smoke, cropped from image by József Szabó from Pixabay
    Interconnection and Stepping Away
    Some lessons from incense about seeking wholeness and retraining ourselves toward compassion.
  • Largely decoratie: The words "Whose tools?" and a two-pan balance.
    The Predator’s Tools
    Considering assumptions about “justice,” highlighted in this week’s Torah portion.
  • Covers of two books: On Repentance and Repair, We Will Not Cancel US
    Repentance, Repair, and Cancellation
    Exploring repentance and repair with the “unthinkable thoughts” of adrienne maree brown’s We Will Not Cancel Us
  • Hebrew and English words of community: Hebrew and English words: Tzibur -- public group. community -- kehillah. Folk [Latin and Hebrew characters] Minyan -- quorum. Adah -- congregation. Fellowship -- havurah.
    Community Meanings
    Thinking about community in scholarship, vocabulary, and questions for Elul
  • pile of rubble cropped from earthquake photograph
    Rough Draft for a Rough Season
    An Al Chet (error litany) for institutions for the month of Elul 5785
  • Stone, ancient-looking, well with wooden shelter ovefr it
    The Climb Up
    Moving toward post-upset Relationship as Jewish calendar moves from “affliction” to “comfort.”
  • Word Eikhah in Hebrew characters, plus English “How?! How? How!
    How?! A Roadmap for Transformation
    The “Hows” of this season remind us that building community is hard work that can easily get off track. (Part 3 of 10)
  • Hebrew and English spelling of Av
    Nine Days of Curiosity
    As the month of Av begins, the Nine Days call for reflecting on what needs repair.
  • green grasses on sahara --
    Summer Breather, Toward Fall
    Calendar Notes for a Summer of Collapse, part 1: Summer Breather, Toward Fall
  • picture of tallit, folded to show four fringes, labeled: asurim [bound] + l'yad [adjacent] + bachutz [outside] + lo nikhla [not impacted] 317+44+106+132= 599
    In Mind: Execution and Tzitzit
    Capital punishment and garment fringes. These topics bump against each other in this week’s Torah portion, prompting reflection
  • Matir Asurim, Tzedek Chicago, and Yom Kippur
    Remarks from Yom Kippur afternoon 5785 at Tzedek Chicago, about Matir Asurim: The Jewish Care Network for Incarcerated People
  • Image is selection from source sheet on prayer for rain and gezel: robbery, wrong, oppression
    Unpaid Debts, Violence, and Rain
    Some study passages toward a prayer or ritual response for the terrible anniversary coming.
  • Legal paper reads: United States District Court, Eastern District of New York. Ronnie Kahn, Plaintiff, -against- Neshama Carlebach and Nedara Carlebach, defendants.
    Musical Legacies
    Intrigued by disagreement among sources, I am sharing here some things I recently discovered trying to find the right citation for “Return Again,” often sung during the Days of Awe.
  • Kaddish Resources 2024
    kaddish translations and interpretations
  • stack of three paper-back books -- God-Wrestling, Worship and Ethics, and For Times Such as These -- showing loose pages and wear
    Something to Talk About: Split Binding Version
    In honor of a whirlwind start to my relationship with this new-ish book, I offer “Something to Talk About: Me and For Times Such As These.”
  • still image from psychedelic short film shows american eagle flying past church, barn and silo, log cabin and Lincoln-style top hat, head of a buffalo in one corner
    What Kind of Country Is It?
    Part of an attempt to “scout out the land”
  • Jeremiah and that tree by the water
    Music-related resources on the Gospel, Blues, Labor and Civil Rights song based on Jeremiah 17

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