D'vrei Torah
The Eulogy
A long, long time ago, just on the edge of where memory meets embellishment, I was an Associate Rabbi in Hollywood – not Hollywood, FL, heaven forefend – but the real Hollywood, with swimming pools [Read more…]
funeral
Care-Giving Concerns
The World Shrinks
There are certain “set pieces,” or repetitive scripts that become a part of every Rabbi’s life. This comes under the heading of REALLY telling tales out of school. Each of us clergy-people brings a certain [Read more…]
D'vrei Torah
Release and Relief
I attended the funeral last month for a woman my age. This, alone, has a way of bringing one’s own mortality into sharp focus. Still, circumstances were decidedly different. This individual, the sister of a [Read more…]
Reflections on Aging
Unbreakable Bonds
Several years ago I was asked to perform the wedding ceremony for an old friend’s daughter in Los Angeles. I flew in to San Diego a few days early so that I might visit a [Read more…]
D'vrei Torah
The Lord giveth…
Who among us is not familiar with the faith-filled words of Job who, in the midst of crushing despair and loss, utters the famous line, “The Lord giveth, the Lord taketh away; blessed be the [Read more…]
Care-Giving Concerns
Having “the talk”
Several of my friends who are also caregivers for their elderly parents to one degree or another, kept telling me that I needed to have “the talk” with my parents. “The talk” was a discussion [Read more…]