On an early morning hike, sitting here in the valley, surrounded by these rustic large rocks, I feel enveloped in God’s embrace. The early morning sun rises from behind the rocks, warms my back and soothes my heart. My eyes slowly scan the bumps and curves of the rocks looming around me. It’s as if […]

What seemed like someone else’s problem, tucked away in a corner of East Asia several weeks ago, suddenly, and in a matter of days, has taken a drastic turn and come to our shores. Yesterday the WHO declared the Coronavirus a pandemic, and in an instant, so much of the stability and security that many […]

Every day in the news it feels like our world is repeatedly being turned upside-down. Travel restrictions followed by orders to self-quarantine. The name of the culprit: the Coronavirus – “corona” meaning “crown.” It was named this because of its physical structure, but I think we can learn a great deal more from its name. […]

Dear Jew in the City- I am hesitant to say anything in opposition to a beautiful, courageous act and cause any sort of divisiveness at a time when Jews must come together but I do have a theological question. When the man who stopped the Monsey attacker from doing more harm got a medal for […]

My fourth child was born 6 weeks early, but otherwise healthy. Or so we thought. In the moments after delivery, the OBGYN and neonatologist exclaimed over the baby’s umbilical cord. Part of it was a normal tube, but part of it looked like a thick, flat pancake. “Is that a problem?” I asked. “Doesn’t seem […]

In November 1995, I was a sophomore at Johns Hopkins University. Secular-raised, jeans-wearing, I was trying to sort out my relationship with G-d. Though I was not “shomer shabbat” at the time, I took long walks on campus on Saturday afternoons, seeking my own personal connection with the divine. I hadn’t resolved what kind of […]