Blog
Following October 7, the Israel-Hamas war kicked up a small storm in Reform Judaism. My synagogue, Congregation Sherith Israel, has not been immune. I begin with a January 1 column in Israel’s Haaretz newspaper by Daniel Weiner, senior rabbi of Seattle’s Temple De Hirsch Sinai: “What We Reform Jews Forgot to Teach Our Children.” (Daniel Weiner is…
The American adoration of the rugged, hence isolated, individual becomes most unhelpful as people age. Installing a new Apple TV device offers a prime example. Many elders refuse assistance. Let their children or grandchildren—or professionals—help them get along? That stands as an admission that independence is waning, that they’ll soon be removed from their home…
Every New Year brings hopes and fears but 2024 will play a particularly pivotal role in history. Take November’s election. Donald Trump likely will secure the Republican nomination unless his legal woes and outrageous statements bring some Republicans to their senses—or he’s banned from enough state ballots. The Atlantic’s January/February 2024 issue posits what might happen…
A British TV dramedy about high-school teens involved in endless sex ultimately reveals a lot about the challenges Christmas often poses. Carolyn and I just finished season four (the final) of Netflix’s Sex Education, starring Gillian Anderson and a wonderful cast. Each season starts with copious sex but soon segues into the subject of relationships with…
Today’s first day of Chanukah, the Festival of Lights, arrives during a period of more than seasonal darkness. Israel continues to face the threat of Hamas (and Hezbollah) violence, a war rages in Gaza, and Jews across the globe, including the United States, contend with rising antisemitism. Of note, Jewish college students who support Israel…
The end of the Israel-Hamas war will come. The ending depends on Israel and the Palestinians looking forward, not backward. Given the October 7 slaughter, Israeli anger is understandable. Israel will destroy Hamas’s infrastructure and fighting capabilities, if not its hatred. Afterwards? Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu approached the slippery slope last Monday when he said…
Recently, I learned I’m cool. Wait. Let me walk that back. Time Out magazine rated my San Francisco neighborhood—the Richmond District—one of the 40 coolest in the world. #27 to boot! Carolyn and I have lived in the Richmond for 50 years. The neighborhood—homes and two-flats abutting each other, small apartment buildings, mostly on corners—wasn’t always considered…