Random violence makes the news because it is rare, whereas routine kindness doesn’t make the news because it is so common. — Matt Ridley, author of “The Rational Optimist” from his essay Why Is It So Cool to Be Gloomy? (Wall Street Journal, November 16, 2018) “You’re not going to eat that, are you?!” Peter […]
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Author’s Note: Today is September 11. I never forget. Here’s what I wrote back on this date in 2009, as I recalled the events of that tragic day eight years earlier. I grew up in Brooklyn, New York, near Red Hook and the docks. My father and uncles owned a bodega on Columbia Street, and we lived […]
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It was my youngest son’s Bar Mitzvah this past Saturday, and as is customary at our congregation, he prepared a brief sermon reflecting on what he learned from that day’s Torah reading. He centered his talk on the following question: If you do something wrong, does that define who you are or what you can […]
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“Remember, focus on pace, not place,” I call out to my son as he and the other runners step out on the track and to the starting line. My son is a freshman in high school, and although he has played baseball since he was 5 years old, his new passion is running, which was my sport […]
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“That’s the one you picked?” I could tell immediately that my mom was not happy with the plant I bought for my grandmother. She took it from my hands to take a closer look, and I have to admit, out in the sun, standing outside the school building, the plant looked sad and sickly. “I […]
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Author’s Note: Yesterday was the 15th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks, a tragic and sad day for our country. I grew up looking at those towers from my bedroom window as a kid, never imaging they would crumble to the ground someday, brought down by hate and evil. I was fortunate that I […]
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