This year (5780) was the first time I had a full Yom Kippur fast since 2012, since previously I was either pregnant or nursing. But as important as the role of self-denial is during the holiday, the Talmud suggests that self-care supersedes it.
By now, everyone has had all sorts of thoughts about the Coronavirus and what it means to us personally, politically and socially. I know I have, and as a teaser, the theme of our upcoming Chronicle is all about COVID-19. There’s a lot of hardship and opportunity all wrapped up together during this long hunker-down. Both are worth exploring.
Well before social distancing and stay-at-home measures, the Torah suggested we're obligated to take responsibility for public health. Basically, the Torah says stay home.
When I met Duncan, he had never kept kosher in his life. On our second date, when it seemed like there might be more dates in our future, he asked me about what it meant for me, a conservative rabbinical student, to be dating him, a life-long bacon cheeseburger-eating reform Jew (his words, not mine).
As we prepare to enter back into “chag,” it seems the to-do list outstrips the time-to-do. So, apropos of The Little Prince, which one of my boys was recently reading, and the Little Planet from which he came, here is a “Little Oasis.” After the holidays end, I will return to the regular format that includes a summary and questions for the Shabbat table.
This Passover, the seders will indeed be a different night for so many obvious reasons. Many of the people we normally share the evening with may be far away—or even half a mile away. But for all intents and purposes, they might as well be across the world. That will be different. Many of us will be holding our seders by Zoom. That will surely be different.
How do you find spiritual fulfillment? Maybe it's through traditional prayer, or maybe it's through a walk in the woods or a jam session with friends. This week's Torah portion suggests it might be confusing to offer alternative paths to spiritual connection, but as a rabbi I take the opposite approach.
