What I’ve learned about Zoom is I’m not able to be fully present unless I remove the distractions. When we really see each other, not just in a tiny window at the top of the screen while we mindlessly scroll Facebook or answer email, that’s how we build relationships. May we continue walking into 5782 with presence and focus on the things that matter.
What you consider a home or house may look different from everyone else’s. This week’s Torah portion reminds us that we all come from somewhere, whether your “somewhere” is a specific block in a suburb or the whole planet, but even more important is the somewhere you make for yourself.
Reading Parshat Noach close after the High Holidays is our yearly reminder that how we act in the world is up to us and not where we come from. Like Noah, we are fully capable of doing the hard work to change patterns, hold ourselves to higher standards, and make our example the one that future generations want to follow.
Like lots of children, I had an imaginary friend who I occasionally blamed for my own mischief. Why do we play the blame game, and why does it begin at the start of the Torah as soon as there's more than one human being on earth?
Being a leader sometimes means taking a step back and putting some distance between you and something you want deeply because it will benefit the greater good. Like Moses, we won’t be able to fully enjoy the world we leave for our grandchildren and our great-grandchildren either, but it’s our responsibility to lead them to it and leave it in their hands.
Rosh Hashanah Erev Rosh Hashanah 5782 – September 6, 2021 Rabbi David Kosak, When Loss Renews Itself as Hope – Text Rosh Hashanah 5782 (Day 1) – September 7, 2021 Rabbi David Kosak, Truing the Wellness Wheel: Finding Shleimut in a Broken World – Text Rosh Hashanah 5782 (Day 1) – September 7, 2021 Rabbi Eve Posen, Shehechiyanu – Text Watch on Video: Yom Kippur Erev Yom Kippur ... Read More
Our Torah portion this week, Parshat Vayelech, recounts something akin to hide and seek with God and the Israelites. What would happen if people stopped looking for God and then stopped following the mitzvot altogether? Whether you’re searching for something tangible or a solution to a problem, it’s the discovery that keeps us engaged.
