“I pledge to be funny.” Those are the words my son Joshua wrote several years ago when he was asked to sign a behavior contract before going to sleep-away camp. Not satisfied with just committing himself to respecting others and following the camp rules, he made a commitment that to keep…
By Rabbi Rachel Esserman
Sometimes I forget to take a mask with me, so I’ve been keeping extras in the car. I’ve felt weird walking into buildings or homes without wearing a mask: the former normal now seems a bit abnormal. I’m still wearing masks when going shopping and still limit t…
By Rabbi Rachel Esserman
I don’t usually write about my rabbinical work in this column, but, although there are numerous political and social issues of importance I could discuss, it’s personal ones that are haunting me this week. On June 16, for the first time, I did the funeral of a p…
By Rabbi Rachel Esserman
“Thinking I really have to write about antisemitism, although I’m not sure how much more anyone can say. Maybe I will say just that.” The impetus for my statement was reading commentators asking where was the outrage about the antisemitism that has flared up i…
One of my favorite memories of freshman year in college took place in a literature seminar: the students in the class got our English professor to admit that “Moby Dick” was a poorly written book. When I was in rabbinical school, I learned that the Herman Melville novel was the favorite …
