Twenty-two years ago, on Saturday, January 12, 2002, I walked into that confessional at the back of our church and asked God for his forgiveness and mercy. It had then been some thirty-five years since my last “Bless me Father, for I have sinned.”
More »
Once again we find ourselves approaching that lowly manger. It is time, but not yet. It is a time of great anticipation, a time of dreams and visions, of sleepless nights and longer days. It is a time of waiting, of knowing and not knowing what is yet to come. And no, not of sugarplums and flying reindeer or pretty presents under the tree. Those things would one day come but not this time.
More »
Each of us, no matter the age, health, wealth, education, faith or station in life was born partially blind; newborns can see objects less than a foot away but then only indistinctly in black and white. Learning cues about space, distance, and texture, and coordinating these impressions with what we hear and feel—all this takes a considerable period of trial and error.
Have you ever wondered why there is a worm in a bottle of mezcal (Tequila)? Have you ever eaten the worm? For some to do so is considered an act of machismo; personally, I feel queasy and shudder just thinking about it.
Seldom have I found much use for opinion polls or surveys. First and foremost because they are neither objective nor fact but, by definition, the collective views of a supposedly random sampling of those who just happen to have an opinion, which excludes absolutely no one at all.
Being of a certain age, with far more miles now traveled than those which could possibly remain, what occupies the quiet moments are but tiny echoes, rippled reflections of long ago when life was everlasting and all things were possible. Somewhere along the way—when, I cannot recall—the exuberance and optimism of youthful charity met the sober temperance of adulthood and much, far too much was lost of the beauty, kindness, goodness, and innocence of childhood.
We are all familiar with the name Emmanuel which literally means “God is with us”: “Immanu`el” (עִמָּנוּאֵל). Yet, no one, in all likelihood, is familiar with a slightly different phrase: “Hashem hu betocheinu” (תוכינו.בתוכינו) which is Hebrew for “God is in us.” And yet, God is both with us and in us, isn’t he?
The Jewish-American author and Nobel Peace Prize recipient Elie Wiesel wrote in his book Souls on Ice that “When we meet our Creator at the end of our life, we won’t be asked, ‘How well did you use the talents I gave you to love and serve my people on earth?’ Rather, we’ll be asked: ‘How well did you use your talents to become you—the you I created you to be?’”
Eliezer ben Hurcanus was a first and second century rabbi who was known to tell his disciples “Repent one day before your death.” And when asked, “How will we know when that day is?” he would reply, “All the more reason to repent today, lest you die tomorrow.”
At times it seems nearly impossible to discern whether we are going up, down, or sideways. We look for guidance but wonder whom to believe, whom to trust. Much of our misgivings rests in the abundance of hypocrisy that we encounter from our leaders, secular and religious.
