Rabbi Bruce's Reflections on Life

  Dear Friends, We recently returned from a birthday trip to celebrate my 70th birthday.  We were on Route 66 and one of many highlights was being in Winslow, AZ at the corner made famous in the Eagles song, "Taking It Easy."  Many of  you  may remember the iconic line that we shouldn't let the sound of our own wheels drive us crazy.  I have always found great inspiration in  these words and it was wonderful to be in the place described in the song. Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, in  one of his essays, called "A Sense of Direction," about the weekly Torah portion, "Bechukotai"  speaks about the role of a GPS in our lives.  Our cell phone's map app can tell us how to get somewhere. But what we have to decide is where we are headed. As we traveled Route 66, we headed down a nostalgic road that reminded us of pieces of our American history.  I remembered stories from my parents of traveling Route 66 in the 1940's.   I had hoped a...

  Dear Friends, I have written about my upcoming 70th birthday a few times but on Friday, May 17, it will become a reality. I am reminded of the words of the Psalmist who  wrote "This is the day the Lord hath made, on it we should rejoice and be happy." ( Psalm 118:24) As we celebrate this milestone birthday with family and close friends, I feel very blessed. I want to share the blessing which a dear colleague, Rabbi Gilah Langner, gave me last Saturday at services.  She reminded me that the numerical value for 70 is the Hebrew letter "ayin."  (Each  Hebrew letter has a numerical value.  Please search for gematria to learn more about this). "Ayin" is also the Hebrew word for eye and she encouraged me to keep an eye on what is important in life and knowing my interest in baseball, she told me to keep my eye on the ball.  She reminded the congregation that when one receives a walk as a batter, it is because the batter watches the ball go by and...

  Dear Friends, As I write this Mother's Day article, I am thinking about my own mother of blessed memory. The Shema, our prayer which reminds us of the oneness of the Divine, teaches us to teach our children diligently.  The actual words suggest "Listen, Israel, the Lord our G-d, the Lord, Alone. One of the most important lessons I learned from my mom was to listen. There is a line in a Desiderata which I have printed below, that suggests we should listen to the dull and ignorant, for they too have their stories. One of the most important aspects of my  rabbinate has been that I hope I have been able to listen well to those with whom I  have had contact.  In a world where people don't often listen to each other and where there is significant polarization, I hope that we will listen to each other and not just think about what we will say in response. My mother also read the following to us at our wedding.  (See below, the poem by S.H. Payer). ...

  Dear Friends, As I reflect on the meaning of today's Holocaust Day of Remembrance, this year is different than previous years. As we watch events unfold in the Middle East and across campuses in America, I want to  share teachings of two Holocaust survivors who I was privileged to call friends. The first one is Charlene Schiff who died a number of years ago. You can do a search for Charlene Schiff, Holocaust survivor and learn more about her.  She taught us all about the four "I"s.  Ignorance, injustice, intolerance, and indifference.  We must do everything in our power to educate so there is no ignorance.  We must fight against injustice and intolerance.  Finally, we cannot and must not remain indifferent to those who are in need. Although a seemingly simple  message, she profoundly touched all of us by her passion to work to eliminate the four "i"s.  May we find meaningful ways to carry on her memory through our own efforts to work for ju...