Tonight is the launch of Living Room Shabbat! Can you tell that I am excited? As the name suggests, Stampfer chapel has been set up with plush sofas and tables (a hint to the wise--if you want a couch, come early). We’ll make kiddush together at the beginning of the service, and then people will be free to enjoy light snacks or a beverage during the service. Let me also invite you to wear comfortable and relaxing clothes.

Have you ever been falsely accused of some action or belief of which you are innocent? Has your reputation been besmirched for someone else’s benefit? Or perhaps you were leading people in an important direction that frightened those who were meant to follow--and so they attacked you to derail your efforts?

It’s on exactly one antique globe from the year 1510. Hic sunt dracones. Here there are dragons! Anyone who’s ever been fascinated by antiquarian paper maps may have also run across many sorts of magical beasts that adorned unexplored regions of the world. That uncertainty plays on our imagination and fears. We are both captivated and horrified at the prospect that we share this world with fearsome beasts larger and more powerful than ourselves.