OMIGOSH! I’m in the NEW YORK TIMES?!
YES!I just received an email from Lisa Hamilton, a fellow author interested in both books and beliefs, asking about my blog here, and mentioning that she read a reference to Books and Beliefs in yesterday's New York Times.She WHAT? My blog is WHERE?She is right....
Done and yet just beginning
I had my meeting with my rabbi. It was very good. He will help me.He said this was the month to do this, to get my team together, to look ahead proactively. I think it is no accident that I should first talk to him about this at the beginning of Elul. Even when the...
A Reason for Jewish Optimism: Part 2
Continued from Part 1.My burning question to Tsvi Bisk after being captivated by his lecture was this: what can we do?My question was answered on two levels.Community"We've done the research on alternative energy," Bisk said. "We have plenty of research. Enough with...
A Reason for Jewish Optimism: Part 1
I recently attended a lecture in St. Paul by Israeli author Tsvi Bisk and in some very real ways, it changed my life.First of all, Tsvi Bisk is an incredible speaker. He had a large room with a standing-room-only audience mesmerized for nearly two hours. This is hard...
Giving until it hurts
As most of you know, my beautiful baby girl, may her memory be only for a blessing, died halfway through my pregnancy in May of this year. As many of you know, I have a small group of local women friends who are all moms of young children, though I am the only...
Dear Sheyna…
Two and a half articles done, I just took a break and retrieved the mail, finding a hand-addressed letter to me from a vaguely familiar-sounding name in New York.Curious, I opened it."Dear Sheyna,I am Jewish and I believe Yeshua (Jesus' Hebrew name) is the promised...
Credibility, expertise, authority, esteem, respect–what am I looking for?
I decided to write about this because it's on my mind a lot and because it's been an issue for a long time, yet one I've rarely ever talked about.I wrote just a bit ago about who is the expert on fringe Jews. I am interested in what others think about that. Do you go...
And so it begins
I had an appointment with my rabbi for this week. I arranged for child care so I could meet with him uninterrupted. I was nervous, but as I wrote earlier, I am jaded when it comes to appointments with the rabbi. I usually don't expect it will actually happen until...
Who is the real expert on fringe Jews?
I have an appointment with my rabbi for next week.I am scared.The problem is that I can't trust what's in my head. I can't trust my emotions. My counselor has observed this, too, saying that I can't approach situations from a purely emotional stand. I have to go back...
Promise fulfilled but still waiting
I contacted my rabbi today and left a message. I have not yet heard back but it is early yet.I agonized over what to say, how to say it. How much do I say? How little? I found myself using words like, if it is at all possible, and, is there any way.My husband says I...