Torah Geek

This summer at camp there was a family of birds nesting in one of the trees right outside the dining hall. There were a few days early in the summer when we were told to keep our distance — the baby birds were learning to fly and the parents were not thrilled with humans standing next to their tree. One morning, one baby bird plummeted onto the table where we were having a meeting. After some adorable and awkward hopping and flapping the small bird wound up on the ground in the bushes and throughout the meeting we would look over to see if it was still OK. Was it stuck? Did it need help? Where were this bird’s parents? I was worried about the baby bird. You probably realized far sooner than I had what was really going on. In two days my oldest daughter, Mira, is starting college and leaving our nest. Many of you have been through this before; you know the combination of intense pride and happiness that comes along with a vague sense of loss. In the words of the Roman philosopher S...

When we finished tying your tzitzit you took the most important step of becoming a Bat Mitzvah. It was not the act of tying the fringes; it was the moment when you realized that it was yours.  Truly yours — not just as a possession, but something beyond that. You made it yours by the work you put in and by connecting each knot to your hopes and dreams, to the things you are grateful for, and to your own understanding of what it means to be a  Jewish adult. I made this tallit for you last summer with your dad, but it is you who completed it. Today we will literally hand you the Torah, passing on our values to you, but it is up to you what you will do with it. Just like your tallit, you will make Judaism your own. The painted corners of your tallit represent the journey our ancestors took to the Promised Land, as well as your own journey; these are my blessings for you at this stage in your life’s journey. May you always be able t...

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions... John Tierney,  The New York Times'  science columnist, recently wrote an article about decision fatigue: the idea that our ability to make a decision gets degraded from making hundreds of small decisions throughout the day. The more we choose, the less able we are to make more choices. The Torah (always ahead of its time) teaches us in this week's portion that there are only two choices we need consider: blessing and curse. Blessings will abound if you follow the commandments and curses if you do not- the obvious decision, in any case, is to follow the commandments. The portion then provides lists of commandments about where to worship, how to worship, what to eat, how to mourn, and how to celebrate the major festivals. As Reform Jews we often struggle with the concept of  mitzvot  and what it means to be commanded. And yet we are very aware that we are all Jews by choice -- we define our Jewish identity by the choices we make...