When you hear hoof beats, do you think of horses or zebras? Unless you live in Africa, the answer for most people is horses. Yet, according to Jordan D. Rosenblum, the ancient rabbis were more interested “in the anomalous rather than the mundane. In short, when they hear hoof beats, they t…
What is wrong with our country? Two recent headlines – “Hate crimes and biases against Asians on rise”* and “FBI warns of potential surge in hate crimes against Asian Americans amid coronavirus** – make me question the basic tenets of American society.
I take these headlines and e…
The ethics and rules featured in the Ten Commandments form the basis for much of Western legal culture, so much so that there are debates in the United States about whether they should be printed on public property, such as court houses and legislative buildings. Yet, at a time when the hist…
I had difficulty at first remembering the new way to speak about my disability. Instead of saying, “I am hearing impaired,” I learned I was supposed to say, “I have a hearing impairment.” The idea was to change the way I defined myself – I am a person with a disability, rather than…
People find peace and comfort through different activities. Take, for example, two recent books, one of which looks at prayer and the other at gardening. Rabbi Dov Singer gives suggestions to help people have meaningful prayer experiences in “Prepare My Prayer: Recipes to Awaken the Soul…
