Fine, Thanks – Parshat Miketz 5777

There’s a certain expectation that comes with asking someone how they are. You expect to receive a simple “good” or “fine” or maybe even “could be worse.” So it catches you off guard when instead you receive an entire life story of what ails them in that moment, including why it ails them, how they got there, and what they wish would happen.

Hanukkah Is Fake News Too

As we learned from the widespread propagation of “fake news” over the last several months, we believe what we want to believe. Fake news and sensationalized headlines are nothing new, but they rose to the forefront of our national dialogue during and immediately following the election.

Change of Perspective – Parshat Vayeshev 5777

Do you know that point at which you’ve read something so many times that it starts to lose its meaning? Maybe it’s something you yourself have written, and you’ve reached the saturation point when you need to hand it off to someone else to edit.

Of Snow and Snark

I try not to allow myself snark. It's a lovely, seductive and ultimately diminishing emotion by which you make yourself feel better than others, if only in some small way. Most of us engage in snark at moments. Some of us get caught thinking about the world in this way a great deal of the time. It would be easy to dismiss the quality of snark as either, "that's how people are," or "well that's not a particularly attractive personality trait."

Blow Me a Kiss – Parshat Vayishlach 5777

The Bible is a kissing book. Who knew? In fact, kissing in the Bible serves a significant purpose, and it’s not always a romantic one. This week’s parshah, Vayishlach, again shows us interaction between Jacob and his brother Esau.

Straight Up Torah-The Pagan in Judaism

Last night, we were able to attend Cirque Du Soleil's Toruk. A friend had extra tickets from work that were going unused because of the inclement weather. This particular show was visually stunning, and is based on James Cameron's blockbuster movie, Avatar, an equally stunning visual extravaganza.