Sefirat Haomer

How can I expect to be forgiven if I have not extended the same grace to others, if I have not demonstrated with my daily behavior that we can treasure our relationships despite their imperfections?

Iyar is the only month in the year where every day has a special, time-bound commandment to perform. This newborn chunk of soul is receiving daily work on ourselves...

I am full and empty. I lose the love, the joy, the security of an intact life. But I learned the beauty of surrender...

Beneath all those longings and fears, beneath even the anticipation of honeyed blessings, lies - I sense - a deeper waiting...

I resent them for having this conversation while I am in the room. I cannot share their interest in fabrics and sizes and prices. I have come here to swim to encourage the pain to move through me...

Rain was our enemy. It meant no tree climbing, no kickball, and no raiding my mother's garden for the ripe strawberries she had not yet discovered. It meant, in short, no real fun for an entire day...

Maya asked a few questions, peered into cupboards and bedrooms in her best social-worker manner, and then left. I was sure we passed the test...