Rabbi Bruce's Reflections on Life

  Dear Friends, Last weekend I had the opportunity to participate in a Juneteenth commemoration in Fairfax at Mt. Calvary Baptist Church. The following two quotes were a major part of my participation and led to the following experience which I want to share with you. “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. Never again can we afford to live with the narrow, provincial “outside agitator” idea. Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bounds.”   ―  Martin Luther King Jr.,  Letter from Birmingham Jail “ Human Suffering Anywhere concerns men and women EVERYWHERE ” Elie Wiesel The link between the struggle for freedom between Blacks and Jews is strong.  Each Passover and in every generation we are obligated to remember that we were slaves to Pharao...

  Dear Friends, As we prepare to celebrate Father’s Day, I was reading the following article from the June, 2023 edition of Sports Illustrated Magazine.  (See below…I hope you can cut and paste it into your browser and open it .  If not, please try to access the article written by Taylor Plimpton, George’s son).  As I have tried to explain my passion for attending baseball games to members of our family, this article captures the essence of my insatiable NEED and DESIRE to go to games.  Many members of our family think that my wife should be sainted, given how many games she has attended with me over the years.  On our recent trip to the Vatican, I tried to get an audience with the Pope in order to explore her sainthood, but somehow this wasn’t a priority for him:-)  So… this article is primarily for our children but you are welcome to come along for the journey. I believe that one of the primary teachings of Judaism is how important it is to “tea...

  Dear Friends, What does Joe Dimaggio have to do with this week's article?  I am celebrating the 56th anniversary of my Bar Mitzvah.  Joe Dimaggio's hitting streak in baseball was 56 games. So what does that mean? Dimaggio's streak was a model of consistency and as I look back on becoming Bar Mitzvah and the trajectory of my life, Judaism has in one way or another been consistently important to me. There were times I wrestled with my  faith, thinking about becoming Bahai, struggling with observance, and wondering whether Judaism really was the religion for me.  When I was in college, I took an introduction to Judaism at the University of Illinois with Professor Gary Porton.  It was a revelation to me since I found that learning about Judaism in a serious way was immensely rewarding and inspiring.  I realized that to be Jewish was and is a blessing. As I learned more about the Torah portion, Naso, from which I read and which we read this Shabbat, ...