VOLUME 2, ISSUE 23
06/12/2020 05:39:56 PM
COVID and its Mask:
What a Plague has to say about Humility
If you could take a snapshot of a moment in time today and show it to the you of half a year ago, it would shock your comprehensive abilities.
I was driving down Peninsula Blvd when I noticed the overhead traffic billboard flashing: COVER YOUR FACE IN PUBLIC. It occurred to...Read more...
VOLUME 2, ISSUE 22
06/11/2020 07:32:58 AM
THERE AND BACK AGAIN
When the Corona virus was finally beaten and bested by the best of humankind, it was not because of thoughts and prayers. It was through the unexpected cooperation and unforeseen grace exhibited by those who were thought of as enemies just a few months earlier. This, of course, happened in 2021, because 2020 would never allow for such an unlikely outcome. Go...Read more...
VOLUME 2, ISSUE 21
06/01/2020 07:24:24 AM
Who? What? When? Where? Why? and How?
These are questions we've been taught to ask when discovering anything new.
In terms of coronavirus, we've progressed so much since it came onto our radar, but the experts are nowhere near having most of those answers.
'Who' can refer to which populations...Read more...
VOLUME 2, ISSUE 20
05/31/2020 02:35:44 PM
Two incidents occurred last week that should disturb everyone with a heart and soul: (I) the death of George Floyd and (ii) the rants of Amy Cooper. If you are unfamiliar with either, I provide links:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZf_lWZUt-Q
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lirHz93qJ50
Both incidents are of course racially...Read more...
VOLUME 2, ISSUE 19
05/28/2020 03:58:59 PM
Jenn was not quite bridezilla, but she came close.
For months we had been hearing about the music, the dress, the seating, but especially about the chuppah. Jenn wanted it outdoors. She had picked the perfect gazebo area and the perfect June day. It was the perfect June day, until the weather took an unexpected turn the afternoon of the wedding. One hour before the...Read more...
VOLUME 2, ISSUE 18
05/27/2020 04:19:04 PM
The Last Bar Mitzvah
"Did you really just spend $800 at Gourmet Glatt?!?"
It was February 18th, the day we got back from our quick trip to Israel for my son Isaac to put on tefillin for the first time. My wife Shani had become completely engrossed in the news about this crazy virus in China that was beginning to spread. We've always...Read more...
VOLUME 2, ISSUE 17
05/26/2020 08:47:37 PM
So you have graduated into the worst job market in American history. In fact, I can honestly say Covid-19 has been the greatest economic disaster the world has seen in at least 50 years. 9/11 mostly effected New York. It made us more vigilant, but it wasn't Covid. Super Storm Sandy was a once in a lifetime storm. It hit us hard here on the South Shore, but it wasn't Covid.
Read more...
VOLUME 2, ISSUE 16
05/25/2020 06:57:17 PM
Shavuos has always been my favorite holiday – and not just because it is close to my birthday. I was born Motzei Shavuos thirty-five years ago and this year my Hebrew and secular birthdays coincide during the same week. The days leading up to Shavuos, like the days leading up to a birthday, are meant to be a time of introspection and anticipation for the greatest of Hashem's gifts to us.
Where I grew up in Montreal, it was a...Read more...
VOLUME 2, ISSUE 15
05/20/2020 11:03:57 PM
Scientific Universe.
Some versions have "scientific community".
D"A.
This includes Rabbis, but only those who hold that Torah permits the study of ‘science’ in yeshiva.
Humbly.
Since the days of Moshe Rabbeinu, no one can truly be called humble.
CE Era.
Not to be confused with a car that used to be manufactured by Oldsmobile.
Face Masks.
I have a recurring dream – a...Read more...
VOLUME 2, ISSUE 14
05/19/2020 06:20:02 PM
Memoirs of a Sanitation Commissioner
Most of us remember Sandy as if it were yesterday. After that "once-in-a-lifetime" event, we all cleaned up and cleaned out our homes. We had so much material loss, it was hard to be optimistic about the future. How could insurance replace what was lost? Would there be a second surge the following year? We cleaned up our basements and garages...Read more...
VOLUME 2, ISSUE 13
05/18/2020 12:20:57 AM
Hey, Graduate:
What is Your Opportunity Cost?
Even though they are taking place under less than auspicious circumstances, this is the season for graduations.
So, graduate, what type of world are you graduating into?
The economy has been shut down for two months and counting. New job openings are few and far between. Even those jobs that were always the fallback -...Read more...
VOLUME 2, ISSUE 12
05/17/2020 12:05:12 AM
The Agenda of Agita
Part II
Another week has gone by and, if you have been following the news, not much has changed. Oh, the numbers have improved in our part of the world – fewer cases, hospitalizations, and deaths – signaling a brighter short-term future. But you would not know that from your phone, radio, or TV. The media continues to...Read more...
VOLUME 2, ISSUE 11
05/15/2020 12:16:43 PM
One of the greatest gifts that we can give our children, is the power of taking ownership and responsibility for their own choices. So much of the experience of being a child is framed around doing what other people tell you to do at the specific time that you are told to do it. As parents, we embrace the responsibility of leading our young because we know that they need direction. They are incapable of making the...Read more...
VOLUME 2, ISSUE 10
05/14/2020 04:46:53 PM
GLUE
On day 253, the quarantine finally defeated George. It took longer than expected, but then again, so had the quarantine.
The realization dawned on him one Thursday morning; a morning when he could not or would not get out of bed. He heard children in the distance, a garbage truck on his corner, and birds chirping despite the...Read more...
VOLUME 2, ISSUE 8A
05/14/2020 04:32:08 PM
L E T T E R S
From: Sheila Feirstein
What A Cliffhanger!
Brilliant of you to keep us waiting for tomorrow for part 2!
By the way, you brought out a bit of cynical snarkyness in me as I think back to 1st grade when Morah T told us if we didn't read each Hebrew letter correctly it would cry. I...Read more...
VOLUME 2, ISSUE 9
05/13/2020 04:38:26 PM
The Corona Chronicles
As I write this, it is almost Lag B'Omer, which serves as another reminder of how at each stage of this isolating plague we were so wrong and clueless about what would come next.
Six weeks ago I sat my 4 kids and my husband down with newspaper covering the floor and cut everyone's hair. I then hesitated...Read more...
VOLUME 2, ISSUE 8
05/12/2020 04:18:53 PM
Talking about the "new normal" is a touchstone of the new normal. This signature topic features comments regarding its abnormalities combined with remarks about moments of beauty. Ingredients also include anxious conclusions focusing on its uncertainty - and a compulsion to join the discussion.
As a non-essential worker (both before and during the outbreak, some would...Read more...
VOLUME 2, ISSUE 7
05/11/2020 09:06:29 PM
The Agenda of Agita
PART I
It was six weeks since Tzviki sneezed, Berel coughed, Lipa shivered and shook with fever, and Pinkus died. The Chelm Disease Council wisely told everyone to stay home until further notice. The problem was that the CDC had to listen to their own advice and with everyone home, no one knew when to come back out....Read more...
VOLUME 2, ISSUE 6
05/10/2020 08:41:56 PM
What the Coronavirus Taught the Men in Our House
The men in my house learned they each have a step! What does that mean you ask? I will tell you.
We have lived here almost 16 years and I have done laundry every single day (except Shabbos, Yom Tov, Sandy & Katrina). The clothes are put on the main staircase in order of age. Mitch and...Read more...
Volume 2, ISSUE 5A
05/08/2020 12:54:15 PM
Ruff Times
Ever since that holiday 8 weeks ago when the humans wore masks all day, things have stayed weird. Granted, that first day the masks were more colorful and now they are kind of plain. Come to think of it, there was a colorful parade of humans knocking on the front door that day dropping off boxes of people-food and now I haven't seen any new humans visiting the house...Read more...
Volume 2, ISSUE 5
05/08/2020 12:45:37 PM
The Sacred Bin
It's a small problem in the scheme of things, but as my wife has told me on more than one occasion: "your cut, your pain." In my case, the pain is that I've run out of books to read. Shabbos is coming fast, which is wonderful, except that I’ve run out of books. It’s a very long Shabbos without shul, a good book, and the Good Book.
Read more...
Volume 2, ISSUE 4
05/07/2020 10:50:30 PM
In homage to a good friend's "Thankful Thursdays," I see no better time to share this musing of small victories.
May 31st. That's the earliest date I was given regarding availability to repair my son's phone by one of the only locations open in our area. I knew that this would break him. Having missed out on bar mitzvah parties and an anticipated school trip to Boston;...Read more...
Volume 2, ISSUE 3
05/06/2020 07:51:00 PM
On Flowering Trees, COVID and Resilience
"My barn having burned down, I can now see the moon."
- Mizuta Masahide (17th century Japanese poet and samurai)
I would like to thank the readers who have been a captive audience and instrumental in management of my...Read more...
Volume 2, ISSUE 2
05/05/2020 06:33:29 PM
Bye Anonymous
There was a time not too long ago when, a few weeks before Shavuot, Rabbi Jeff Miller would assemble a ragtag crew of speakers to help us burn the midnight oil. The shiurim – while lively and interesting – were sparsely attended; beginning with about thirty people spread out all over the main sanctuary, and thinning out over the course of the night. Amos never...Read more...
VOLUME 2, ISSUE 1A
05/04/2020 04:31:37 PM
When this pandemic began, all of our children returned home. Ariel's bedroom became her classroom (She is a Preschool teacher), Grant's bedroom was transformed into his accounting office, the kitchen was Erica's domain where she completed her first semester of Stern College online, while Steven set up an additional table in the dining room, and I began to provide teletherapy in the basement.
Read more...
VOLUME 2, ISSUE 1
05/04/2020 04:18:59 PM
The Aspir Shul
When we first went into lockdown, my first thought was: I haven't been (too) late to shul in almost two years. I was upset about breaking my best personal record. When I made this remark to my oldest son, Gabi, he responded, "Dad, being a Jew isn't like baseball. It isn’t about keeping streaks."
Though I will still cherish my...Read more...
VOLUME 1, ISSUE 30
05/01/2020 03:02:12 PM
Let me start off by saying (writing): I am not a writer. I have no issues with public speaking, and actually enjoy doing so, but for some strange reason, writing is just not my bag. I would much rather Zoom my Vacczine article than actually put it in writing. Why? Because I’m unusual.
So I'm sure people have been wondering, "What has Fred been doing during this...Read more...
VOLUME 1, ISSUE 29
04/30/2020 11:57:15 PM
A friend of mine, Rabbi Chaim Strauchler, from Shaarei Shomayim Congregation in Toronto, recently wrote the following, about our shared Rebbi, Rav Aharon Lichtenstein, ztz"l, whom we so revered. I share it in its entirety due to its power, its personal resonance for me, and its relevance to this moment in history:
Last Shabbat was the 5th Yahrzeit of my Rebbi and Rosh Yeshiva - Rav Aharon...Read more...
VOLUME 1, ISSUE 28
04/29/2020 04:09:16 PM
From Sadness to Joy
I spent a good part of yesterday and today watching tekasim ceremonies for Yom HaZikaron and Yom HaAtzmaut via Zoom, Facebook and Youtube. Although I’ve visited Israel many times and even lived there for 5 months, I've never been in the land for these days. I was never there to witness the end of the sad emotional day remembering Israel's fallen...Read more...
VOLUME 1, ISSUE 27
04/28/2020 11:37:32 PM
Growing up, I didn't have much of a sense of Israel.
I had never been, didn’t have immediate relatives there, and was terrible at speaking Hebrew. Yet by eighteen I was certain I would live there.
At eighteen it's common to crave meaning and consistency. I wanted a meaningful life built on complete adherence to and consistency within...Read more...
