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This gorgeous little boy (no, not the monkey) is Benjamin Jerome, born February 19th. He is the new adoptive son of my dear wonderful friends Laura and Micah (who has just posted about this, of course, on his own blog.) They are two truly extraordinary people, and I'm...

...but close is not the same thing as actually done. I now pronounce ch. 1 Done For Now (we'll be seeing one another soon enough at the revisions factory) and push forward, bravely, to battle ch. 9 and the afterword. But not today. I have some things to do for another...

Today we're learning Mishnah Brachot 4:6: "If one was sitting in a boat, or in a wagon, or on a raft, [when one prays], one should focus one's heart toward the Holy of Holies." Some background: When one prayes the Shmoneh Esrei (the Amidah, one of, or perhaps the,...

Today's meditation brought to you by Urbandictionary.com:A guy walks up to me and asks 'What's Punk?'. So I kick over a garbage can and say 'That's punk!'. So he kicks over the garbage can and says 'That's Punk?', and I say 'No that's trendy!" In related news, today,...

I don't know if this site was down yesterday or if my own internet was being screwy (both plausible; I had trouble pulling up a couple of other sites and didn't have time to go dinking around to figure out why), but now at least in my own home, things are working as...

Today I spent the whole day reading and writing about existentialism. Oof. Sartre, I might add, looks increasingly feeble in his claims of atheism the more I read him. He's constantly talking to and about the God in whom he doesn't (really! He doesn't! He means it!)...

Mmm, WotW was extra lovely indeed. Lots of friends showed up (I think they had to cancel the egal minyan at one yeshiva b/c all the women were coming to the Kotel today), and I had the great honor of leading both Shacharit and Musaf. It's always so humbling just to be...

Oh, it's Adar. About time! One thing I love about being in Israel is that the seasons really do correspond to the Jewish calendar--it was designed to be that way, after all. But really, this Shabbat, suddenly, the air went from feeling heavy and rainy and chilly to...

and cry. Then write a letter to your Senator. Then remember that the Iraq war, while an important issue in the 2008 elections, is not the only issue worth considering when going to vote. "Why I'm Happy My Health Insurance Costs $12,268/Yr"