meaning

Tisha B’Av: Why Commemorate Tragedy?

Every person has a different way of dealing with grief; some cry, shout, pray, fast, or choose to celebrate and remember ...

From Mourning to Memory: Chasing Balloons, Wearing a Ring

For those of you who wear rings, this probably sounds familiar: you fiddle with your ring, a thousand times a ...

Working for Meaning

On January 4, my family and I were privileged to attend the final Broadway performance of the revival of Pippin ...

The Yearning Burning Bush

There are 54 discreet portions, parshiyot in the Torah.  If we regard them as chapters in a greater whole each ...

A Moral Life? Or a Meaningful Life?

A few days ago, David Brooks wrote an article entitled “The Problem of Meaning.” In our society today, and especially in ...

OM(er)G: What’s With the Beards?

There’s been some pretty intense facial hair around the ISJL office lately. If you stopped by in May, you might ...

Freedom From Passover Is Freedom, Too

The story of Passover, and the Exodus from Egypt, involves the oppressor (Pharaoh and the Egyptians) and the oppressed and ...

The Torah of March Madness

Have you filled out your bracket yet? Yes, “Madness” is in the air as the most exciting two weeks of ...

How Do You Open The Door?

As we approach the winter holidays, one thing will likely dominate our minds: doors.What? Doors weren’t the first thing on ...

Do We Go to High Holiday Services for the Comfort of the Boredom?

At the conclusion of Yom Kippur services, the rabbi was standing at the door shaking hands as the congregation departed. ...