Hear Their Cries: This Year, May We Listen to Those Who Cry Out
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.
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.
Hope in the Darkness of Fear
In this week’s Torah portion, Sh’lach L’cha, 12 scouts are sent into the Promised Land to bring back a report to the former slaves in the wilderness. Ten of them report that the Land flows with milk and honey, but it will be difficult to conquer. Two spies present a different point of view, projecting an energizing sense of hope over a paralyzing sense of fear.