With Sukkot beginning tonight at sundown, I was struck last night about how this holiday is sort of “made” for the COVID world we are currently living in. (Stay with me for a moment and I think you will understand.)
The first of three harvest and pilgrimage festivals in the Jewish c…
Growing up, I used to love this time of year. In the Bay Area, as the temperature began to cool down a little, I remember distinctly feeling a sense of hope and renewal as the start of the school year came around after Labor Day and soccer season was just beginning. There were new experience…
I could really go for a nap right now.
When I was a child, one of the things I used to hate hearing my parents say was, “Okay Jason… it’s time for your nap.” Having two kids of my own, I know that I was not the only child who dreaded this. What is it about kids not enjoying a na…
You know that feeling… You are walking down the street or talking with a friend, and all of a sudden you feel like you have already done this before. You can’t quite remember if it was in a dream, or if you actually experienced it before. That feeling… that sense is commonly referred t…
Growing up, the phrase my parents used to say that I said I would never repeat is “Because I said so.” I used to hate it. Not only did I feel that there was no explanation behind it, but it felt so final… so definitive.
Fast forward thirty years and guess which phrase I find myself fo…
Close your eyes.
Picture a time when life was simple… carefree. People sitting outside on their porch, with a cold, refreshing glass of fresh-squeezed lemonade or maybe a glass of freshly brewed iced tea. A neighbor walks up to ask if they could borrow a cup of sugar, as another fam…
The anticipation, the excitement, the nervousness hits me all at once as I sit down and pull on the shoulder vest restraint. I have waited a long time for this moment and can hardly wait until the roller coaster pulls away from the loading area and we begin to climb.
Click, click, click…
Last July, when I was thinking about how things would be a year from then, I never figured I would still be checking the number of people infected with COVID like I have been these last several weeks. Plus, several months ago, when the vaccine was available, I assumed, along with many of you…
For the last several months, I have felt like each time we take two or three steps forward with COVID, every so often we had to take a step back. With the news at the end of last week that LA County’s Department of Public Health was going to reinstitute the mask mandate for everyone, no ma…
For the last several weeks I have really enjoyed being able to walk into a store, a restaurant… really anywhere without wearing a mask. I still do keep one handy, including every so often making sure I have one in my pocket. But, it has been really nice not having to put one on, especially…
We just celebrated one of my favorite holidays of the entire year this past Sunday. July 4th… the day we celebrate our nation’s independence and the establishment of the United States of America. I love the pageantry, the red, white and blue regalia, the unified celebration of our freedo…
Over the last couple of weeks, as life has slowly gotten back to some sense of normalcy, I have found myself beginning to forget what life was like just a few months ago. You remember, don’t you… having to wait in line to get into the grocery store because they were only able to accommod…
You know those moments you look forward to, have built up in your mind, and are not quite sure how you will feel when they actually occur? Will you experience elation? Trepidation? Or will it feel more like a letdown because the expectation or hype did not live up to the moment? This is sort…
You know those commercials that just stick with you and you still remember them to this day, even though you first saw them over 20 years ago. Commercials like Wendy’s “Where’s the beef?”, Got Milk’s “Aaron Burr”, or Tootsie Pop’s “How many licks does it take to get to the …
Engaging the Jewish Community in New Ways
In 1996, shortly after I graduated college, I was hired to be the University of Virginia Hillel’s new Program Director. I was excited and nervous about the opportunity to work with college students who were not that much younger than I was at the …
