Collections of Thoughts and Poetry

#ontheotherside #sayingkaddish #listening #listeninginsteadofspeaking #prayer #morningminyan #thememoryroom #achange #atransition #transitions An Observation For ten months I stood alone in my living room with my contemporaries and said the kaddish prayer in the Memory Room. I stood looking out of the window or gazing at a photo of mom, or looking down at the floor or at the computer monitor but mostly I concentrated on remembering the words of the kaddish, on saying the w

#jacob #esau #myprayer #prayer #wordshavewings #parshatvayishlach #birthright #areyouthere #doesgodhearourprayers In this poem, the first I will write about Parshat VaYishlach, brings us the edge of a river. It is night, Jacob is alone and is preparing to meet with his brother Esav in the morning. Esav and Jacob did not part ways amicably or honestly. Despite years apart, Jacob still fears his brother's revenge after stealing Esav's birthright. Jacob is now a wealthy man and

#teshuva #teshuvah #yomkippur #aseretmyeiteshuva #asweetyear #ahealthyyear #ayearofpeace #avinumalkeynu #redeemus #grantusgoodhealth #grantussafety #helpus #prayer #prayeroftheheart #selfreflection #reflections #elijahtheprophet #iamariddle I am teshuvah Like Elijah, I visit you each year You are the empty chair waiting for me You are the brimming wine cup on the table I visit and sip  from your conscience  Each sip a tiny itch deep in your head Did I? Should I? Can I? I am

#Kiteitzeh #parshatkiteitzeh #mercy #showingmercy #empathy #showingempathy #training #trainingforthemarathon #spiritualtraining #beitsasson #elul #shofarblowing #sayingkaddish #kehillatisraelbrookline #prayer #beitsasson #selichot #sephardicprayer #Roshhashannah #yomkippur #lookinginward This was a D'var Torah presented this week at Kehillat Israel's morning minyan. The Boston Marathon won't be coming to Boston this year. It didn't come in April and it won't be coming in Sep

#Roshchodeshelul #elul #roshchodesh #newmonth #morningminyan #ki #shacharit #prayer #torahreading #numbers #bookofnumbers #parentsandchildren #averyspecialroom #kaddish #mothersanddaughters #fathersandsons #minyan #musaf #roshchodeshtorahreading Today I had another opportunity to do a Devar Torah for our morning Zoom minyan. I'd like to dedicate it to the memory of Rabbi Hamilton's father, may his memory always be a blessing. Today, had we been in a real instead of a virtual

#prayer #openyourhands #openyourheart #thedanceofprayer #sayingkaddish #kaddish #africandance #sufidance #hassidicdance #nativamericandance #danceasprayer #wordshavewings #mothersanddaughters #irmag #covid19 #missyoumom #thankyoumom #dancingwithyourheartopen #feetonthefloor #dancetofeel #danceforjoy #rabbinachman #breslovchasidim Dear G-d, if only my heart would be straight with You all the time, I would be filled with joy. And that joy would spread all the way down to my fee

#eyes #nose #mouths #mouth #coveringup #wearingamask #wearingmasks #wordshavewings #prayer #sayingkaddish #covid19 #journalingmywaythroughthistime #masksofmanycolors #eyessayitall #chin #cheeks #lips #lines #character I miss seeing your chin Sometimes it crumples when you are sad And it dimples when you smile It has a cleft in the middle A strong chin reveals your character Hidden now under a mask I miss seeing your cheeks They have more lines now Furrowing through the smooth

#prayer #covid19 #chazzan #cantor #davening #shaliachtzibbur #leadingthecongregation #whatittakes #beautifulvoice #distortions #themusicofprayer #newdiscoveries #wordshavewings #sayingkaddish #irmag #mothersanddaughters Question: When choosing a good cantor, whether a professional or simply a member of the congregation, what are the most important attributes which one should look for? (This material is taken from https://schechter.edu/what-are-the-attributes-of-a-good-c

#march #april #prayer #bakashah #plead #asmarchturnstowardapril #2020 #outlikealamb #themonthofmarch #covid19 #poetry #controlstheseasons #freedom #spring #redemption #inlikealion As March Turns Toward April It is said that the month of March starts out like a lion and goes out like a lamb This year it goes out like a beast a stalking beast a ravenous and lunging beast March, we bid you to leave With a violent shove We scatter your ashes to the wind We won't miss you in this

#cleanhands #washyourhands #prayer #washing #washinghands #covid19 The song of the day speaks about Who shall ascend into the mountain of the Lord? and who shall stand in His holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not taken My name in vain, and hath not sworn deceitfully. Perhaps it is no accident that we read these words in the song of the day. There is a whole lot of hand washing that takes place in your life if you are following the rules of the

#overlandparkkansas #overlandpark #kansas #sayingkaddish #irmag #prayer #covid19 #shacharit #travelingwithoutmoving #internettravels #congregationbethshalom #conservativejudaism Thank you to Rabbi David Glickman of Congregation Beth Shalom of Overland Park, Kansas. I am using the Covid-19 experience as a challenge to continue to say kaddish for Irma G, Z"L, by visiting different synagogues around the country who are experimenting with how to conduct services remotely. From w

#kaddish #sayingkaddish #covid19 #lifeathetimeofthevirus #prayer #Chicago #synagogue #davening #shacharit #sayingkaddish #blogwordshavewings #wixblogwordshavewings When I got up this morning and came downstairs I had already missed the shacharit minyan in local synagogues, so I went hunting in another time zone. I found a service that was being broadcast from Temple Beth Shalom in Chicago so at about 8:15 AM I became part of a Chicago service. The rabbi, seen below, was