I know these Rosh Hashanah words of Rabbi Sharon Brous are already circulating online, but if devoting my blog space to her impassioned expression of moral pain introduces them to one more reader/listener, I will consider it a worthwhile use of that space. Rabbi Brous articulates the spiritual crisis we Jews face today with a passion and clarity that’s unmatched. She is a worthy successor to the...
Days of Awe
The evening of the Monday on which you’ll be reading this posting marks the start of the Rosh Hashanah holiday on the Jewish calendar, which in turn begins what is called the Days of Awe – the ten days till the end of Yom Kippur during which one repents for the sins one has committed during the past year and charts an improved course for the year ahead. At least that’s the way I have...
Reflections on Pain and the aging Body
Recently, a dear friend wrote to ask for guidance about how to approach a new stage she’s entered that involves dealing with the pains that beset an aging body. I think the two of you might have a fair amount of wisdom and maybe medical expertise – – navigating medical expertise —around the physical challenges of aging. Although the note was addressed to both of us, Rosellen has a story very...
Prophet song redux
It’s the day after Labor Day, and I’m not alone among my Chicago neighbors who fear that the date marks the beginning of a promised invasion by ICE agents, determined to step up the pace of arrests and deportations, as well as the deployment of National Guard troops to stamp out the supposed epidemic of rampant crime. By the time you read this next Monday, we will know the full extent of Trump’s...