More Than Four Sides

Category: Religion

  • Walking to synagogue

    This morning, it was just J and me.  S and Dad had a double-header baseball game scheduled at 9am.  We gave J the choice – go to baseball, or come to shul (synagogue) with Mom.  He chose the latter (I don’t flatter myself – he chose that because it gave him an extra 30 minutes…

  • Outnumbered

    Yesterday, as we began our walk home from Shabbat morning services, my friend, Father Goof, remarked that the adult:kid ratio was way off for my house that afternoon! He was right, but, thankfully, it worked out well. I had 6 boys, aged 7-12, and three dogs (we were keeping our friends’ pair of golden-doodles for…

  • Gone, 34 years…

    I’ve been absent from this virtual space for awhile.  My last post was in October and it was prompted by the book club I belong to (From Left To Write).  And, prior to that, I was posting from Sierra Leone. This month, January, is the month that my father died, 34 years ago.  My daughter was…

  • Do these look like keys?

       I read this week about the tradition of Schissel Challah, a loaf baked in the shape of a key, or with an actual key baked into it, served on the first Shabbat after Passover.  Here’s one link, with explanations.  And here’s another link, with better explanations. I’m afraid my keys don’t look much like…

  • Chag Pesach Sameach – next year!

    In a few hours, my family and friends, and community, will sit down to retell the story of the enslavement of the Hebrews under Pharoah in ancient Egypt, and the remarkable events that led up to their release, and beginning their journey to the Promised Land (or not). This year, I will not be celebrating…

  • Monday – waiting for the Ferguson decision

    Last Monday morning, like most mornings, my commute was in the company of NPR, which, like all the news outlets, was describing the preparations in Ferguson, MO, anticipating the announcement of the Grand Jury decision. My last patient of the day was a man I have taken care of for some time, but this appointment…

  • Jewish Identity

    I’ve been catching up on my podcast listening, partly because of a reminder from my daughter about the new podcast Serial (which is fabulous!). My podcast subscriptions include three podcasts produced by The New Yorker magazine: New Yorker: Comment New Yorker: The Political Scene New Yorker: Fiction New Yorker: Outlook And the most recent episode…

  • Biting off more than I can chew

    Well, this past Shabbat I really did it to myself! I volunteer for my synagogue in a number of capacities, and the main role I have is as one of four volunteers, fondly nicknamed the Yad Squad.  Yad mean hand in Hebrew, and it can refer to a pointing tool used by those who chant…

  • Letting go of Christmas

    I was never a very good Christian. The main problem was that I was always asking for logic and internal consistency. I couldn’t understand why a monotheistic faith had divided God into a Trinity, for one thing. And the Virgin birth? The Resurrection? The answer was always “You have to have Faith” and “It’s God’s…

  • End of the holiday season…

    This past week marked the end of a string of holidays/Holy Days, starting with Rosh HaShanah on September 24 (actually, starting earlier, with Selichot on September 20, for me, but for many observant Jews, the preparatory month of Elul before is part of the experience). Anyway, we finally wrapped it up, with the exuberant, music…