History

As my four grandsons watched wide-eyed, I could feel all the bubbies and zaidies in the room . . .

“One by one, the pawnbroker weighed the items to discern their value. But when he picked up the heart necklace—Momma suddenly let out a shout, ‘No!’”

What I encounter is a matter of life and death. Not death as an end, but as non-life, a state of dormancy. The potential for life is unexpressed. It is curled up, head lying lifeless between its knees. Complete in formation, but inactive and unthinking...

This was the Purim miracle. Where there had been the disorder of sleep and exile, where evil was able to domineer the good, there was now order. The Jews could overcome their enemies...

How can I fathom G‑d's pain, when He is the cause of our remaining in this bitter exile? Should I feel sorry for someone who in the process of hurting or punishing others gets hurt himself?

Somehow the anonymity of a diverse group of strangers coming together from far and near, opens the channels of communication, awakens sleeping hearts and forges new bonds. Personal life stories begin flowing freely just as the choice wines at each meal...

With their extremely detailed brains, people with ADD are often plagued by an unattainable pursuit of perfection, which in turn, prevents them from completing almost-finished tasks, in a vicious cycle of running off to the next thing and then the next…

As I gaze at them, I wonder about their perceptions of their home: Do our fish realize that this twenty gallon tank is just a tiny miniature replica of their authentic home, in some faraway lake or sea?

So here I sit at my youngest daughter's siddur party, my digital camera poised in one hand, and my other hand wiping away a stray tear...

A few years into the "mothering thing" my enthusiasm for these homey projects was on the wane. I opted for the clean and easy way to do the mitzvah of Shalach Manot: a trip to the kosher bakery for store-bought hamantashen...