During the synagogue service, after reading to myself the silent Amidah, the central prayer, I take a few moments for personal reflection.  Never has this individualized prayer taken the form of words.  As comfortable as I usually am in the realm of written and spoken language, the idea of/…

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After reading with hope Stacey Burling’s excellent Philadelphia Inquirer pieces last month on the resources now available for children coping with grief, the January 5th Inquirer article by Kristin Graham on the Philadelphia School District’s decision to cut its special representative fro… Read full post »

I run two miles in 20 minutes from 5:45 to 6:05 am.  That's what I do, on a treadmill in front of the early morning news, so in my mind that's what I can do.

But earlier this month, I ran about four miles miles in 45 minutes, on a country road/…

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Remarks at Dad's Funeral, August 22, 2011

When I google the term “Bernard Wolfman,†it’s not until I get past the 40th page of results that many of them no longer refer to my father.

Thirty-some years ago, when I was in high school, I sat in on one of my father’s…

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This afternoon I enjoyed the privilege of reading my book, I Remember Mommy's Smile, to the 7- to 12-year-old children participating in bereavement camp at Chandler Hall in Newtown, PA.  Each child had lost a parent--unusually, in this group all were fathers. My book presents my memoirs, in my c…

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Note: I delivered this as a d'var Torah (sermon, or literally "word of Torah") at Beth Sholom Congregation in Elkins Park, PA, on July 23, 2011. To learn more about my sermons, click here.

Let’s talk about Thomas Jefferson. I’m thinking about a particular doctrine attributed to Jefferson t/…

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In a disturbing story that has hit the news, a child custody battle nearly turned on whether the child should stay with a mother suffering from terminal cancer.

During two and one-half years of my childhood--when I was 9, 10 and 11--I experienced the illness and death of my mother from cancer.…

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I actually was, considering the circumstances, quite lucky.  People have pointed out to me that in the early 70s people felt a young child could not understand death and talking about it would traumatize them.  But my family knew better. We were incredibly open with each other and I had con…

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This year, our family’s three youngest children could not make the seder.  But even they are adults in their very early 20s.  Their older cousins and siblings, ages 22 and 23, were the babies present.

Coincidentally, in preparation for Pesach, I had studied Rambam with my rabbi, Andrea Mer…

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(Sacred Deeds, Sacred Time and Sacred Space)

D’var Torah for Parashah Va-Yak-Hel
February 26, 2011

In the Etz Hayim commentary before T’rumah, the parashah we read a few weeks ago, we learn that we can maintain the feeling of Sinai through a combination of sacred deeds, sacred time and sacred space.…

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My husband just marked his 50th birthday.  In preparation, he delved into a midlife crisis about 3 to 4 months ago.  It was unlike any midlife crisis I'd ever expected.  Brad sunk to no depths--of depression, crutches or unsavory activities.

Instead, he began asking and noticing. He has/…

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Note:  This has absolutely nothing to do with the typical themes of the Baker’s Dozen Press blog.  But there’s always room for humor, right?

11am – Noon 

• While I am holding a meeting in my office, the landline rings three times; I ignore it until the meeting concludes.

Noon

• I check
… Read full post »

Spending Rosh Hashanah with a focused intention toward t'shuvah -- a return to God (to righteousness) -- only makes more stark the complete absence of such intention in the media's attention to Terry Jones and its self-centered fascination with itself.   ... See this complete High Holy… Read full post »

Over the 25 years of my marriage, I have not been a great in-law.  Not that I've been a bad one (I hope), but my effort has been lacking.  No doubt I could find any number of excuses, but… Read full post »

Here are some excerpts from recent postings at my Baker's Dozen Press blog.  I invite you to visit for the full essays.

1:  How Weighty is the  Bible?

I’m on vacation in the Bible belt.  We have two very large vacation condos for three… Read full post »

NOTES:  I delivered this d'var Torah (sermon, or literally "words of Torah") this Shabbat morning, July 24, 2010, at Beth Sholom Congregation in Elkins Park, PA.  My learned friend Steve Carpey commented after that we should spend time studying the word "ger" (stranger) in our texts, and I… Read full post »

My attendance rate at my synagogue’s Shabbat morning services, once probably in the 90^th+ percentile, has fallen so low that every time I show up I receive an aliyah (the honor of being called to the Torah), as though it's a big event to see me there.

While I have enjoyed my brief foray into Open Salon, I am closing this blog and re-opening at the new Baker's Dozen blog.  Please visit me there! Read full post »

When I posted the essay about my peculiar talent with complaint letters, I promised to let you know how it went with Daryl.

 He resisted a little, but within 24 hours reduced the invoice by 25%, making it much more within the boundaries of reasonable, and he apologized for the problems… Read full post »

I've been told on several occasions that I ought to make a business out of ghost writing complaint letters.  Friends have stated that my track record is so good I could fare well on a pure commission basis, taking a percentage of the refund or compensation received.  I could be the… Read full post »

 

For the first 17 years of my now quarter-century marriage, we were an interfaith couple: I was Jewish and my husband was Protestant until he chose to convert to Judaism in 2001.  So you’d think I might know a little something about managing competing religious commi… Read full post »

In the chapter entitled "Justice" in my book Creative License (www.CreativeLicenseBook.com), I talk about ethical wills and link the concept of justice - and the way we uphold it in our lives - to the leaving of an ethical will.  At the outset, I talk of my sadness that my mother… Read full post »

The first person to post on the blog ( http://creativelicensebook.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3&Itemid=4) associated with my new book, Creative License: Summer Sermons on Torah and Living in Community, is my daughter.  As she commented on "Chaos," a view of B'rei… Read full post »