I received some exciting news this past Sunday.  After a phone call with my parents, in which we all lamented the ongoing sameness of pandemic life, I received an email saying that I was eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.  The State of California had adjusted their guidelines so that workers in residential Substance Use… Read more »

As we say goodbye to 2020, it’s obvious that the events of this past year have served to make it a defining point in our lives, a dividing line (in ways that will only continue to be revealed) between pre-2020 life and our post-2020 world.  As we march forward into 2021, we work to understand… Read more »

I was in a group with residents of Beit T’Shuvah earlier this week.  One resident said, “I’ve always not fit in with this group or that group – not enough this for these people or enough that for those people.  But maybe that’s a tired story.”  The Outsider.  How many of us identify as an… Read more »

Near the beginning of this week’s parashah, we read the story of Joseph being released from prison.  He had been jailed unjustly, having offended the master of his household.  While in prison, he gained recognition for his ability to interpret dreams.  Word of Joseph’s abilities spread beyond the prison walls.  And when Pharaoh needed a… Read more »

Before the pandemic it was common practice for the residents, upon arriving at Beit T’Shuvah, to be without their phones and other electronic devices for about a month or two.  One of the comments I heard frequently was a request for more clocks around the building.  Entering into residential treatment (and early recovery) had left… Read more »

One of my favorite ways to learn Torah is to ask myself, “What if?” Part of the beauty of learning the Torah in its original Hebrew is that the language is open to multiple interpretations.  In fact, some translations clean up and wash over some of the inconsistencies in the original text, from which the… Read more »

We all have moments of desperation, dark nights of the soul, in which we less call out to God than God reaches into us and pulls out a cry for help. In this week’s parashah, Jacob has a terrifying, lonely night in which God enters his dreams and comforts him, offering him hope for his… Read more »

“Mitzvah gedolah lihyot b’simcha tamid.” “It is a great mitzvah to always be happy.” -Rebbe Nachman of Breslov Earlier this week, I was speaking with a colleague who shared a story about a person who is on a quest to be happy.  This person is reading books, reflecting on what is important to them, and… Read more »

SPOILER ALERT!  There is a lot of living and dying in this week’s Torah portion, Chayei Sarah. Translated as the “the life of Sarah,” the portion provides us with models (and guidance) on how to embrace and “hold on” to what we have, while also accepting what we need to do. We start off by learning… Read more »

Red states.  Blue States.  Divided States.  United States.  Will we have a President-elect by the time this goes out?  Unclear. What’s for certain is that elections are anxiety provoking. According to a recent poll by the American Psychological Association, “more than two-thirds of adults are finding the 2020 election to be a significant source of… Read more »

This week’s parashah has one of the most compelling and memorable lines in all of Torah: The Lord said to Abram, “Go forth from your land, from your birthplace, and from your father’s house to the land that I will show you” (Genesis 12:1). This instruction from God to Abram comes with virtually no context,… Read more »

During my first year of rabbinical school, and the first year my then-girlfriend, now-wife and I lived together, I was taking steroids for a medical condition.  I remember returning home from school around 5:30pm, homework looming before me, perfectionist high-alert alarm blaring, and becoming angry – so, so angry – about dirty dishes, or some… Read more »

Let’s play ball!  Or not … Back to school!  Or not … Restaurant dining!  Or not … We’re craving normal.  We’re craving restaurants and beach life, going back to work, gathering for services, and social cues beneath the cheekbones.  But for our own health and the health of people we care about (and people we… Read more »

Our parashah this week, Va’etchanan, gives us a beautiful description of the process of t’shuvah.  As Moses exhorts the Israelites to follow God’s instruction, he acknowledges that they might not choose to do so, that they might stray from the right path.  And if (and when) they do, they will end up in darkness, having… Read more »

I frequently return to the wisdom found within The Spirituality of Imperfection by Ernest Kurtz and Katherine Ketcham to help guide my spiritual counseling work.  The authors’ perspective of spiritual growth starts with the premise of accepting the reality of our very human tendencies towards hypocrisy and self-deception.  They share that “…we human beings find… Read more »

The veil between life and death is thin, and sometimes we see just how thin it is – how fragile each of us is.  Sam’s death last week.  The deaths of others in our extended community.  We have looked straight through that very thin veil, and many of us see ourselves on both sides: “that… Read more »

When the pandemic is over, then we’ll live life.  “When we’re all back at 8831…”  “When we have childcare…”  “When, when, when…”  Our waiting creates the illusion that life in the time of COVID-19 is not living, that we are waiting for life to resume and pick up where we left off – if not… Read more »

Earlier this week, I was speaking with some colleagues as we were working on assigning tasks to complete a project.  One person would be in charge of this, another in charge of that.  We went through our list of tasks, and we came to one that left us stumped.  Who should take responsibility? “God,” someone… Read more »

No matter where we look – whether at home, at work, or in the news – tempers are running hot and moments of reconciliation and healing are in short supply.   Coronavirus aside, divisiveness and disagreement have become an infectious virus, continually adapting and spreading to new scenarios and new carriers.  Symptoms of this infection include… Read more »

Many moons ago, I got a fortune cookie that read: “Everyone has a photographic memory, some just don’t have film.”  Oh how true this is!  It’s amazing that for some completely random things, my memory is spot on.  But for other things, especially the important things that I really want to remember, it appears I’ve… Read more »

Unlearning racism is a matter of recovery. It’s apparent in our torah. There is an incident of explicit racism in this week’s parsha, Beha’alotcha.  We don’t like to talk about racism in the torah, but it’s there.  It’s there because in Judaism, our teachers and prophets are imperfect and remain that way.  It’s their imperfections… Read more »

The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the Israelites: When a man or woman commits any wrong toward a fellow human, thus breaking faith with the LORD, and that person realizes their guilt, they shall confess the wrong that that they have done.  They shall make restitution in the principal amount and add one-fifth… Read more »

This Shabbat coincides with the Festival of Shavuot.  In Israel, Shavuot aligns with the wheat harvest.  Historically, as a pilgrimage festival, it was one of the three times in the year that people would journey from their farms to the Temple to offer up a portion of their crops to the priests.  Since we are… Read more »

Shavuot is coming.  Are you prepared?  Are you ready to receive the Torah?  Have you put aside your slave mentality and worked on your character flaws, refining your inner person in order to receive Divine revelation? Good, because I haven’t either! Regardless, Shavuot is only a week away, so now is the time to rededicate. … Read more »

Is it possible I’m too tired to write the “Schmata”? My therapist would ask: are you emotionally tired?  Physically tired?  And my pandemic-inspired truth is: both.  Emotionally, I’m done.  Grief for a life that was is exhausting – both for the way we used to live and for the people who have died recently of… Read more »

If your journey through this new age of Zoom, this moment of pandemic and quarantine, is anything like mine, it’s had some notable ups and downs.  From shock to confusion to gratitude to outright rebellion against reality, I have experienced a huge range of emotions since this historical moment began.  And this week, like each… Read more »