Motl, the Cantor’s Son, was Sholem Aleichem’s last literary creation; the unfinished two-volume collection of stories about the character begins with his shtetl boyhood and tells the story of his coming to America. It is a symbolic journey depicting the changes experienced by a generation of Eastern European Jews, and by the author himself in later life. In order to represent the break with tradition that Motl encounters in New York City, Sholem Aleichem makes him an aspiring artist, a salient detail highlighted by Dan Miron, a preeminent scholar of modern Jewish literature. Why an artist? Read more...

For twenty-fours this past Sunday and Monday, I had the privilege to help staff (as the faculty advisor for the Ziegler School), at the annual "InterSem" retreat, a program in which students training for the rabbinate and cantorate, ministry, priesthood, and other forms of religious leadership at schools around the greater Los Angeles area gather for inter-religious dialogue and relationship building. As part of our time together, each of the three broad faith traditions (Judaism, Catholicism, Protestant, and Christianity) holds a worship service, attended by all participants. Read more...

The Lord spoke to Moses: See, I have singled out by name Bezalel, son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. I have endowed him with a divine spirit of skill, ability, and knowledge in every kind of craft...and I have also granted skill to all who are skillful, that they may make everything that I have commanded you.  (Exodus 31:1-6) Read more...

When was the last time you said this to someone you love? When was the last time someone you love said this to you? And what did you mean when you said it? And how did you feel when you heard it being said to you? Who are those people in your life that this sentence could even be a viable exchange between you? Read more...

There are certain people we meet whose talents and gifts defy explanation, are even mind boggling, leaving us overwhelmed, moved, and speechless! The singer whose ability to reach perfect pitch every time stirs a chord; the writer whose words tell the story exactly as it should be imagined — every single time; the artist whose images paint a story of meaning and emotion; the speaker who knows just what to say, how to say it, and when to say it. Read more...