rock bottom...

my wife wisely says "things on the floor can't fall down".

up ya go.

freedom crackers...

...matzah symbolizes freedom. right. maybe slavery, but freedom? what does 7 days of eating cardboard crackers priced like gold have to do with freedom. tear me away from basic needs like pizza and bagels. inflict me with krispy kreme withdrawal. send me searching from cabinet to fridge and back again for the items i crave. i need. i can't live without. and call it freedom!?

oh. i get it.

soul sushi...

...a fish headed downstream might be alive, or dead. a fish swimming upstream might need directions, but it's definitely alive. - rav s. pinkus (more or less)

wonder which way teenage trout swim in season.

inner fire...

...the sages of israel teach that the base desires of a person are counterintuitively proportionate to his greatness - the more refined the human, the more treacherous their draw.

as the flames intensify, their demand for fuel increases.

chevron, israel...

...in honor of the season of freedom.

opening windows...

...self esteem is not a cold stone wall between me and your success. it is a flexible window through which i can enjoy your accomplishments, knowing that they do not encroach on my own potential.

windows are more fragile than walls, but they let in a lot more sun.

wide awake...

...if you came here to take, this world is a nightmare. if you came here to give, this world is a dream.
- rabbi l. kelemen, in this amazing torah lecture.

or right click here to download from simpletoremember.com

don't pick on me...

...the talmud teaches "don't judge your friend until you have reached his place". perhaps his place can be reached only by choosing his me.

make friends with yourself too.

pick me...

...to you i am the sum total of all that i am. to me, i am the choices that i have made.

choose my me and find your you.

happy purim...

...one can fully never the individual. quite say they might imperfect, but not why? i because and can or wish, if willed against. ~hiccup~

take me drunk, i'm home.

metaphysical oragami...

...watching my six foot something friend fold in half and then again to reach my rascally baby at his feet reminded me of the old saying "man never stands so tall as when he stoops to help a child" (who said it?)

G-d must be a pro at folding if he can reach me.

driver's ed...

...a pithy admonishment, directed my way by a caring israeli: "better late in this world than early in the next".

the car's is not our only driver's seat.

know no regret...

...experience is the most effective teacher. it's also the most costly. and sometimes just not worth the price.

imagine fire's heat - don't touch it.

truly great...

...all it takes is a skilled flatterer to make a person feel important, or a sharp critic to make a person shrink. But it takes someone of rare quality to make a person feel both big and small at the same time, often by his presence alone.

The truly great man is a man of truth.

wide angle view...

...tonight i waited a loooong time for a bus in the shadow of the old city walls - and was okay with it because i realized people have paid dearly just to see the spot that i stood in.

but then again isn't all living like that?
(credit for the title goes to my wife. )

growing up...

...my son is learning to walk, and i'm afraid to let go of his hand. i hope it's because i'm afraid that he will fall, and not because i'm scared that he won't.

AISH HATORAH RE: LETTING GO

making it home...

...overheard: "so how's married life?" "marriage? marriage is a challenge. my wife treats me great, but marriage is a challenge."

but isn't challenge great, too?

hello new nephew!

in honor of my new nephew, i'd like to share a thought i recently overheard. the jewish congratulatory declaration of "mazal tov", which can be deciphered as "may you be showered in good", is always and only offered on occasions which widen and deepen one's yoke of responsibility.

may we be showered in growth and goodness.

our window on high...

...it's a dark window, the one in which we see ourselves. try looking from the other side - there's brightness to reveal a world.



shabbat me'ushar all.

starting off fresh....

....is always a good thing. right? so let's leave this start as a relativley clean slate.


g'night world.