Shabbat Shalom.

Drash on Parsha Yitro, 5782

About ten years ago, I found Shaarei Shamayim and its community embraced me as I embraced it. It has been a great blessing in my life and sustains me especially these past 18 months when I moved from the diaspora of Madison to the galut, the exile of the Ozarks to take care of my …

Rabbits, by David Lynch

https://youtu.be/UamdEY8LBIU

Still Sleepless in Alma

https://youtu.be/LIT2sujWr-s Haley Reinhart’s cover of Blind Faith’s Can’t Find My Way Home This is the second time I’ve posted this song to my newsletter because it feels oh so apt. I’m sure I heard Blind Faith’s original release in 1969. I was eleven-years-old and already listening to KISR-FM (Of course it was pronounced “kisser.”) KISR …

The Third Season of Dickinson Explained

http://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/09/arts/television/dickinson-final-season.html

#1976Club – time from a little poetry from a prose master! #borges

I’ve written quite a bit about Borges lately, exploring books by and about him; and for the 1944 Club club I was able to read his “Ficciones”, which …#1976Club – time from a little poetry from a prose master! #borges

Mom Fell Out Of Bed

Mom fell out of bed and I had to call an ambulance. Mom’s OK. She didn’t go to the hospital. It was the Tuesday of Simchat Torah and I had just finished leading a discussion group for my synagogue in Madison. I went downstairs to check on her after my event and discovered her on …

Well, It Finally Happened…

https://youtu.be/44wDwMQVqCc Turn up your radioAnd let me hear the song On Thursday, July 16, I went out for a 10a grocery pick up at Walmart. I also needed to pick up some meds waiting for me. I left Mom sitting at the kitchen table: fed, caffeinated, medicated and listening to the radio. I was gone …

Chess Sets Used by Jews During the Holocaust

From Yad Vashem, Israel’s official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust, a collection of chess sets used by Jews during the Holocaust . Some of the sets predate the war while others were made and used in camps and in hiding. Playing chess helped to alleviate the suffering of Jews and allowed them a …

It’s Been A While…

But I'm Back... I want to share this music video with you because it’s so good. Also, it sparks a memory for me. When the Talking Heads’ movie Stop Making Sense, was released in 1984, I was living in NYC and was engaged to be married to Abby. My fiancé and I went to a …