Embrace the Dirt
Succos 5784
I like to travel with an entourage. It is not fitting for a man of my stature to be traveling alone, I need at least a few million followers wherever I go. The good news is that I usually get…
I like to travel with an entourage. It is not fitting for a man of my stature to be traveling alone, I need at least a few million followers wherever I go. The good news is that I usually get…
Sukkot תשפ"ד The Tur (written by R. Jacob ben Asher 1269-1343) notes in the name of his brother that the three festivals, Pesach, Shavuot, and Sukkot, correspond to our three forefathers, Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov: Passover corresponds to Avraham because…
In a field in Ecuador, mountains of bananas lie rotting in the sun. They are a bit smaller than the average banana, and because of that, no supermarket will buy them. They could be turned into baby food, babies generally…
Yom Kippur תשפ"ד During the course of the year when we twice daily say the Shema, we recite the second verse,ברוך שם כבוד מלכותו לעולם ועד (Baruch shem ..) Blessed forever is Hashem’s Honorable Name, silently. On Yom Kippur, though,…
The Eurasian tree sparrow, according to Wikipedia, is a passerine bird in the sparrow family with a rich chestnut crown and nape, and a black patch on each pure white cheek. It reaches a height of about five inches, and weighs in at just under an ounce, keeping…
Rosh Hashanah תשפ"ג The Torah (Deuteronomy 29:1) calls Rosh Hashanah, “יום תרועה” a day of “teruah.” The exact meaning of the word “teruah” is a mystery. A bit of detective work was necessary to determine its meaning. The first step…
Taking a walk in the woods can be a pretty mundane activity, but never when you are in Yosemite National Park. In Yosemite, a walk in the woods is a child’s first walk into a candy store. Every bend in…
Elul תשפ"ג Rosh Hashanah, which falls on the 1st day of the month of Tishrei (this year, Friday night, September 16th) marks the beginning of the new year 5784. This counts the years since the world’s creation, which happened on…
Construction is never a simple thing. The general rule is to expect projects to take thirty percent longer than scheduled and to cost thirty percent more than budgeted. But a building taking more than 200 years to build is considerably…