He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother
I’m your typical oldest child, fitting many of the characteristics that psychologists love to identify: a natural leader, a people-pleaser, a perfectionist, and so on.
The Holy or the Broken
Hi, my name's Marci, and I'm a recovering perfectionist. I say this with a smile, but it is very much true. As a child, I had many early elementary school successes and very little early failure.
Learning from the Imperfection of Religion
Parashat Mishpatim offers a myriad of rules to guide us in how to treat other individuals and nations. It makes us wonder: Why is it easier to think and behave humanely when we consider individuals rather than nations?
The Evolving Role of the Tallit
When I was speaking with a 95-year-old congregant this week, she shared with me the uncomfortable feeling of having her synagogue change around her. “We used to be properly Reform. Now, when I come, I see people wearing a tallit..... " For her, seeing fellow congregants wearing a tallit feels like a betrayal of the Reform principles she holds dear.... The commandment to wear tzitzit, the fringes on the corners of the tallit, comes from this parashah.
Shabbat: Positives and Negatives
The last instruction that Moses receives on Mount Sinai, before God gives him the inscribed tablets, before the incident of the Golden Calf, is the reminder about the importance of the sabbath.
The Holiness of Wholeness - And of Brokenness
This week's Torah portion contains one of the most dramatic events in the entire Torah, the incident of the Golden Calf. Moses has been on Mount Sinai for a very long time, too long for those Israelites who still carry Egypt in their hearts to wait.