Rabbi Bruce's Reflections on Life

 Dear Friends, When I served as a congregational rabbi, each Labor Day weekend I would share the following poem by Carl Sandburg during Shabbat/Sabbath services: FISH CRIER I KNOW a Jew fish crier down on Maxwell Street with a      voice like a north wind blowing over corn stubble      in January. He dangles herring before prospective customers evincing      a joy identical with that of Pavlowa dancing. His face is that of a man terribly glad to be selling fish,      terribly glad that God made fish, and customers to      whom he may call his wares, from a pushcart. I share this because it reminded me of the stories that my parents would tell about  the jobs their parents had. As I recall, (my older brothers, who may be reading this, could fact check me),  my paternal grandfather had a wagon or pushcart and would sell coal in the winter and ice in the summer. I suspect that he too was grateful to have customers who would buy the coal and ice during the seasons in which they needed them

  Dear Friends and Family, We are back from most of our travels and I wanted to share a blog about the Jewish Commemoration of Tisha B'Av which we are observing today. Tisha B'Av is the 9th day of the Hebrew month of Av and we remember the destruction of the Temples in Jerusalem and other tragedies that have occurred to the Jewish people. As we remember these events this year, we think about the horrible Hamas attacks on Israel  which took place on Oct. 7 of 2023 and the subsequent tragic loss of life which continues.  We are all hoping and praying for the release of the hostages and for peace in the region.. I recently gave a talk about what makes this year's observance of Tisha B'Av different from other years.  I spoke in response to the significant division in our Jewish community and beyond, about what an appropriate response should or could have been to the attacks on Oct. 7. This blog is not an attempt to respond to that question.  My desire is to encourage us to