Posts Tagged ‘Rabbi Larry Raphael’
THE OLDEST GUY IN THE ROOM 
A week ago, Carolyn and I flew to Texas for a nephew’s wedding. The trip brought up separate thoughts about flying and mortality. A 6:00 am (ugh!) flight took us from San Francisco to Dallas-Fort Worth International to change planes for Waco. We flew coach. Ugh again. Flying once was exciting and comfortable. Today, security…
Read MoreLARRY’S COMFORTING BOOK
Do books matter? For a Good Year: Selected High Holy Day Sermons by Congregation Sherith Israel’s Rabbi Emeritus Larry Raphael (z”l) is giving me needed perspective on critical theological and personal issues. Larry’s wife Terrie put the book together. I’m grateful. The Jewish High Holy Days are more than a month behind us, so it’s easy to…
Read MoreISRAEL ON MY MIND, PART TWO
Two matters challenged me during my visit to Israel: family and God’s presence. Carolyn and I spent Passover week at Masada by the Dead Sea. There, the last Jewish rebels against Rome held out until 73 CE. We joined my cousin Maxine, who lives in Karmiel east of Haifa, her children and their families, other…
Read MoreJEWS BY CHOICE
The legendary comedian Groucho Marx famously said, “I wouldn’t belong to any club that would have me as a member.” The Groucho persona was highly individual. But isolation offers little to the soul. In that regard, some people join one particular “club” that accepts—but doesn’t seek—members. Last week, a young man named Collin went before…
Read MoreLONGING FOR GOD
I once read a story about the Holocaust, which may or may not be apocryphal. Not that it matters. Nothing—as well as everything—about the Holocaust is impossible to believe. What’s important is that the story’s conclusion tells us a great deal about humanity’s longing for God. One afternoon, a group of Jewish prisoners engages in…
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