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Torah, Talmud, self-awareness, and an exploration of becoming our best selves for students of life and Judaism.
Over the summer, I had a bit of a crisis. It didn’t just happen overnight, it had been bubbling over the last several years. I spent much of the past year reflecting deeply on my rabbinic and personal journey, thinking about the tremendous upheaval from the Covid era, the overwhelm of the October 7th War. Little of the Judaism in my life felt meaningful. What was this all for? Why spend all of this time, money, energy? Who cares? Something felt broken. I kept asking these questions...
Barely a few weeks ago, we didn’t just remember the Exodus. We were asked to see ourselves as though we had left Egypt. Lirot et atzmo, to imagine it as part of us. This line has always called out to me. It is a reminder that: Memory isn’t passive in Judaism. It’s active, alive, arriving. Memory creates a kind of pressure in us. An ongoing request from the past on our present. Today is Yom HaShoah, and we’re asked to remember again. But not in the soft, distant sense. We light candles. We say...
Later this week, we’ll enter the Hebrew month of Adar. The Talmud teaches us to increase our joy during this month. מִשֶּׁנִּכְנַס אֲדָר מַרְבִּין בְּשִׂמְחָה When Adar begins, one increases rejoicing. This seems unfathomable at this moment. How do we find space for joy right now? Should we even do that? Can't I just feel what I want? The answer is yes to all of it. And, I think there are some powerful lessons in our Tradition to help us navigate this tension, especially in ways that honor...