“Whoever preserves a single soul, it is as though he had preserved a whole world.” — from The Talmud Twenty-two years ago, when the Aeroflot jumbo jet rumbled down a Moscow runway and took off bound for California, Lila Katz had only one thing on her mind: getting there — finally. Two days earlier, Katz and her family were in their seats on a different flight bound for the United States waiting to take off when a flight doctor for... Read more
I want to live my life with the exuberance, joy, confidence, and don’t-give-a-shitness of this Speedo-rocking brother step-aerobi-Zumba-ing his face off like nobody’s watching. You’ve got to sing like you don’t need the money Love like you’ll never get hurt You’ve got to dance like nobody’s watchin’ It’s gotta come from the heart if you want it to work. ~ from the song, “Come from the Heart,” written by Susanna Clark and Richard Leigh , 1987 Read more
I don’t think you’re an idiot at all. I mean, there are elements of the ridiculous about you. Your mother’s pretty interesting. And you really are an appallingly bad public speaker. And, um, you tend to let whatever’s in your head come out of your mouth without much consideration of the consequences…But the thing is, um, what I’m trying to say, very inarticulately, is that, um, in fact, perhaps despite appearances, I like you, very much. Just as you are.... Read more
I'm delighted to say the book has been received warmly, reviews are good, and the early (very early) sales numbers are encouraging. Many of the contributing authors to DISQUIET TIME along with some of our supportive media friends are in the midst of rolling out a blog tour. Read more
I am so proud of Sarah Heath. She has one of the most obvious pastoral gifts I've ever encountered (and I've gone to church for a living for the last 20 years or so.) She has a gift and she uses it with amazing grace, joy, and artistry. Read more
I don’t have a problem with the passage itself as much as I have a problem with how it’s typically taught, which is as a primer on domestic divahood. That the Proverbs 31 woman is clearly a working woman is conveniently overlooked by those who choose to use it as a prescription for “traditional” gender roles. (Traditional unless you have to work because you are poor or from another culture or maybe had to get divorced. In which case, carry on.) Read more
But the reason I returned to Judaism was not a deep-seated belief in G-d. It was Judaism’s conviction that being Jewish could not be denied. No matter what, I could not be excommunicated. I could question whatever I wanted and still be "kosher." Denying G-d in front of the altar in the synagogue, blaspheming the Torah, refusing to have my boys circumcised, would not release me. I was Jewish, and once a Jew, always a Jew. Read more
Today one of the finest people I ever worked with as a reporter resigned from my former employer, The Chicago Sun-Times. Dave McKinney is a gentleman and an outstanding journalist who I was honored to work with for a decade in Chicago. Dave didn’t deserve this. Journalism doesn’t deserve this. I mourn the Sun-Times of bygone years. I thought you should see what’s happening in too many quarters of the once great Fourth Estate. Read Dave’s blog post, Why I... Read more
Today, the blog tour continues with my co-editor (the whole book was her idea, btw) Jennifer Grant. Read Jen’s blog tour post HERE. Read more
We see God’s spirit shining through each other’s eyes as we grant ourselves permission and a safe space to, as Edgar says in King Lear, “speak what we feel, not what we ought to say”―even (and especially) when it’s messy. Read more
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