Category: Challenges
Celebrating everyone, every day.
I was called gently to step into seminary; from that, I stepped out of a community and life that I was yearning to – but could not quite – call home. In both my workplace and faith communi... Read More
Are We a Racist Country? Some Thoughts on Trayvon Martin and Bigotry in America
My first semester of college I signed up for a Sociology class, wherein the professor, a middle-aged white woman, viewed her students as a guaranteed audience for her political opinions. I didn̵... Read More
On the Imperative to Understand Other Faiths Post 9/11
Growing up in a small town in upstate New York, my community mainly consisted of people like me: Caucasian, Christian, and middle class. Throughout most of my childhood, I existed in a comfortable bub... Read More
Seeds of Compassion: The Bodhi Tree, Ramadan, and Survival of the Kindest.
Earlier this month, while many people around the world were celebrating the birthday of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the man whose immeasurable compassion has touched the world, a few were planting bo... Read More
Am I Trayvon? Zimmerman? Both?
Originally Published on The Huffington Post As I strolled outside my Manhattan apartment this morning, reflecting on the Trayvon Martin decision, I had one of those moments that would shatter any poss... Read More
On Sinat Chinam, Language, and Bridge-building
As I write this, it is erev Tisha b’Av, the saddest day on the Jewish calendar, on which we commemorate a host of tragedies that have befallen us throughout history, primarily the destructions of bo... Read More
A Lament for Justice
I have seen a lot of responses to the recent verdict in the George Zimmerman trial. Many of the responses have expressed outrage, sadness, and a host of other emotions and opinions about this unfortun... Read More
The Thinking Higher Bias: How society’s bias for “thinking higher” does not apply to our spiritual/religious journeys
One of my favorite songs is “Higher and Higher” by the Moshav Band. With only a few lyrics the song emphasizes a single point, or rather a single hope: for our songs (or praise) to get us ... Read More