The excitement over the recent $1.5 billion lottery jackpot now seems like a distant memory. I probably don’t need to confirm this for you, but sadly, I did not win. Still, in my fantasy scenario, the money would have been spent on paying off my rabbinical school debt, setting aside money for my children’s future, some charitable donations to help offset the cost of Jewish education in the community, and a little left over to enjoy as I travelled the world and pursued my passions.
Yesterday I had the privilege of addressing the state Senate and offering some non-sectarian words of prayer before the floor session began. Let me publicly thank my friend and Neveh member, Senator Elizabeth Steiner Hayward for inviting me to give that invocation. It was also my first time in Salem, and I was grateful to explore our state capitol building a bit.
Even God has temper tantrums. In Ki Tissa, we see a role reversal with Moshe as the “parent” who has to mediate.
This past week one of our most influential legal minds vanished from the scene. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia's legacy, however, seems poised to endure. His theory of constitutional originalism (we determine what the Constitution means based on the Framers' original intentions in composing a section of the Constitution), and the more circumspect and modest role for the judiciary that results from this vantage point, has been tremendously impactful.
My wedding band is inscribed with the words “As a seal upon your heart” in Hebrew. Originally from Kohelet (Ecclesiastes), this verse on my finger serves as a daily reminder in several ways. When Duncan and I were ring shopping, I wanted the “plain gold band” we’d need for the ceremony to also be one that we both felt comfortable wearing every day.
Your clothing can reveal a lot about where you work, the climate in which you live, and even your attitude on a particular day. And yes, this too is Torah.
Our world is filled with microcosms. Walk into a school or an office building, and you’ll observe a fully functioning miniature community with its own rules, operational procedures, and social norms. Airports are another example; I’m always awed by what it takes to operate the world of the airport, from the flight crews to the maintenance workers to the airport employees.
