We stood at the sea Until the waters parted Midrash tells us why The first to step in Nachshon Ben Aminadav Then G-d split the sea Nachshon’s leap of faith Showed the courage leaders need Going first is hard
“Sure, we can afford to order pizza for the kids for dinner when I am feeling at my lowest from chemotherapy. We could call Domino’s and in no time there would be a pizza on the table. But my kids already know that Domino’s delivers! I am so grateful that the members of my congregation bring meals for our family. I want my kids to know that our congregation delivers and that they bring much more than food. When I am gone I want them to know for the rest of their lives they can turn to their Jewish community, to their tradition and to good friends for nurturing, support and caring.” This perceptive, brave and generous young mother living with advanced cancer was explaining why having a congregation which was truly a Caring Community meant so much to her. In fact, she was a member of that congregation’s caring [...]
by Paula Krone and Michael Faber Like most parents, from the time we gave birth to our son, we had many hopes and dreams for him. We wanted him to have a good education, have friends and grow up to live a happy and prosperous life. We also had dreams of our child being brought up in the Jewish religion, and we hoped our child would embrace all that Judaism has to offer. Of course, we had hoped that he would pass some part of ourselves, including our Jewish heritage, to his children. It wasn’t long after Benjamin Avi was born, however, that we knew that many of those dreams would never come to be. Benjamin Avi was born with a rare, genetic disease called mitochondrial myopathy. It is not one of the genetic diseases typically associated with the Jewish people. This one affects both Jews and non-Jews of all [...]
Today is the 1st day of the second year following the death of my son, Mitch. It is also the date upon which I had committed to beginning a Blog about my spiritual journey and contemplations. This morning, God provided one of those Invisible Lines of Connection of which Larry Kushner writes to prove that this is the right day. I was crossing from Penn Station to my Midtown office in NYC, picking out a different route, as I do each day. Rounding a corner, a young man caught my eye, and then my body in a tearful hug. He is the loving brother of a wonderful young woman, Amy, whose wedding I performed ten years ago, after connecting very deeply to her and her fiancé during preparation. One month later, I received a sobbing phone call from her husband, Brian, telling me Amy had died very suddenly. Post-mortem examination [...]
