Each week, a congregant sends me some jokes on Friday morning. A morning chuckle is not a bad way to wrap up the week or head into Shabbat. This week's crop featured some great quips from the inimitable George Carlin, who was surely one of our greatest comedians.

We find ourselves at a heightened moment in our Torah's narrative. Standing at the sea, crossing and heading to long-awaited freedom, the Jews leave Egypt. But we do not leave alone. A subplot within the rabbinic story of our Exodus from Egypt concerns the "mixed multitude"--the eirav rav.

Tuesday night, a lot of Americans watched President Obama's last State of the Union speech. The audience was figured at just over 31 million viewers. On Wednesday night, a lot more people were gathered by the keyboard or television, checking to see if they had won $1.5 billion dollars in the record Powerball lottery.

I write to you after a break that took me first to New York for some professional development, and then to the central coast of California for a family reunion. We had a wonderful time catching up, cooking, hiking in Big Sur, playing football with the boys, and in general recharging after the fast paced days that typify so many of our lives.