2013
Parashat Chukkat: Clean/Unclean
Jews read sections of the Torah each week, and these sections, known as parshiyot, inspire endless examination year after year. Each ...
Why Camp?
This is the last in a series of four blog entries called “Why Camp?” Part 4: Spirituality and Positive Jewish Experience ...
Living in Hebrew, Thinking in Aramaic, Writing in English
“Many artists are ‘underground’,” a writing instructor of mine once remarked, “but no one is more underground than writers.” To ...
You Say “Crawfish.” He Says “Crawdad.” I Say “What’s That?”
As our Monday post indicated, it’s that time of year when we have new staff starting at the ISJL. During ...
Tammuz: Remembering Our Spiritual Center
How Jewish is the Hebrew Calendar? When we use a Hebrew word to identify a period of time, we may ...
Inclusion is a Jewish Imperative
Why do you try to be so inclusive? It’s OBVIOUS that you are liberal because you care about these marginalized ...
On Writing a Novel About The Act of Writing a Novel
I’m sitting on the back porch of my temporary lodgings in Atlanta, while two spiders go at it, the smaller ...
Let Us Come Home
Dan Brotman is a gay man from Massachusetts. So, legally, he can marry his fiancé, Keith. The only catch is ...
Are today’s Americans really wimps?
Recently there has been a rash of articles declaring how stupid American parents have overcoddled their children in all sorts ...
I Was Born a Rambling Man
When someone asks me where I’m from, I never hesitate to say that I’m from New York City. Then, a ...