לֹא עָלֶיךָ הַמְּלָאכָה לִגְמֹר, וְלֹא אַתָּה בֶן חוֹרִין לִבָּטֵל מִמֶּנָּה It is not your duty to finish the work, but neither are you at liberty to neglect it  (Pirkei Avot 2:16). As an eager and precocious seventh grade Hebrew school student, I had a special opportunity to study Pirkei Avot with my beloved childhood rabbi, Raphael Asher. Rabbi Asher has a magical way of teaching that makes any text accessible for learners of every age. He introduced to us Pirkei Avot, the ethics of our ancestors, allowing us twelve and thirteen year olds to, for the first time, engage in rich and meaningful conversations around our ethical responsibilities as Jews. And rather than making this sound entirely overwhelming, he framed the conversation around the above text, reminding us that we indeed have a great obligation to learn the wisdom of our tradition and to make the world a better place, but we [...]

During the year, our little one enjoys Wise parenting center classes and spends most of her days busy at ballet class or the park. Our oldest has been at Wise in preschool for two years (!!), and she has enjoyed seven weeks of two spectacular summer camp sessions on our campus. Thank God, they are living happy, full, rich lives. And now, during the month of August, they’re both home every day together–with one loving caregiver or another–living at a slower and less programmed pace. It is delightful to see them just a little bit bored. When I think of boredom, I don’t mean listlessness or ennui but rather a blank page with endless possibilities. During the year, we are all buzzing from activity to activity, from this special event to this birthday party. Our lives are full and rich and we are happy and entertained. When we aren’t [...]

הֲשִׁיבֵ֨נוּ יְהֹוָ֤ה ׀ אֵלֶ֙יךָ֙ (ונשוב) [וְֽנָשׁ֔וּבָה] חַדֵּ֥שׁ יָמֵ֖ינוּ כְּקֶֽדֶם׃Return us, God, to You, and let us come back. Renew our days of old (Lamentations 5:21).Hashiveinu, Adonai, v’nashuva–these words that are so familiar to us during the month of Selichot and through the High Holy Days actually come from our Book of Lamentations, which we read today on Tisha B’Av. We cry out to God in one voice, asking to return–both physically and spiritually–to God, to our Holy Land. We are forlorn, but we are not bitter. We grieve, but we are hopeful. We yearn for the past, for the good days of old, and we trust that God is still with us every moment both now and going forward.So many of us have enjoyed meaningful prayer experiences at the Western Wall; the beautiful portion of the retaining wall from the ancient Jerusalem Temples. To see it standing fills my heart with great blessing [...]

נַחֲמ֥וּ נַחֲמ֖וּ עַמִּ֑י Comfort, oh comfort My people (Isaiah 40:1). Tonight at sundown marks the beginning of Tisha b’Av, the 9th of the Hebrew month of Av, a somber day of collective Jewish bereavement. Traditionally remembered as the day that the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem were destroyed; Tisha b’Av has evolved into a broader day of mourning for a number of disasters experienced by the Jewish people, a day fated to hold our communal pain. Tisha b’Av is marked by fasting, chanting the Book of Lamentations and the Book of Job, and gathering together as a community to seek solace and comfort. As Jews, we remember times our ancestors suffered, and perhaps there will be more suffering ahead of us (God forbid), but we know we will never experience our woes alone. This year especially, we bear witness to the suffering of our loved ones in Israel; our [...]