Musings from the Meadow: Thoughts on Life Today (with Inspiration from Yesterday)

One of my challenges and treats this summer is reading a new book by my teacher, Dr. Micah Goodman, with whom I had the privilege of studying over the years at the Hartman Institute in Jerusalem. The treat is that I always find Micah’s teachings deeply inspiring. The challenge is that his new book, Chazarah B’li Teshuvah was published in these past few months in Hebrew. Yet, day-by-day, I read a bit – drinking deeply from the ideas contained in this new work, even as I polish my Hebrew skills. The Hebrew title is a play on words, Chazarah referring to “one who returns” and teshuvah also meaning “returning” or in the parlance of our upcoming High Holy Days, “repentance.” One website titles the book, The Philosophic Roots of The Secular Religious Divide . That is a good descriptor for the content of Micah's intriguing book. However, it totally loses the clever play on words contained in the Hebrew title. Though I’m only partway through the book, I am already captivated b...

These days I find the old Grateful Dead tune, “ Truckin ", with its lyric, "What long, strange trip it's been" rolling around in my head.   In truth, my trip has not been so strange. It’s just had some twists and turns I’d not quite anticipated. As I have written about on my former blog, “A Wondering Jew” I have been on of a journey of exploration over these past few years. After more than 35 years as a full-time congregational rabbi, I decided to strike out, exploring new paths. These past two years have been something of an adventure: working (and traveling) for a national organization for a time; teaching in a variety of settings around Boston and beyond; spending more time studying; serving a small congregation for the Holy Days in Fall 2018; and doing some writing. Sometimes paths find us and they beckon us to try them out. This, in some measure, was a part of the backdrop for these past years as I deepened my study and practice of Mussar,  seeking new op...