Two days ago, I attended the funeral of Rabbi Simon Glustrom, my family’s Rabbi throughout my childhood. He was a welcome presence who presided over important lifecycle events throughout my childhood including my bat-mitzvah, the coming of age ritual ceremony for 13 year old. He also was one of three Rabbis who stood under the … Read more
As acrid smoke from Canadian wildfires descended on the Northeastern United States, the red Sun ominously hung in a dark orange sky. Unfortunately, this wasn’t some newly released doomsday video game. Instead, it was just the dawn of another climate disaster dejour that activated a trauma response in me—even though I was 1,243 miles away … Read more
Years ago, a prolific graffiti artist in my neighborhood festooned the sidewalk with one of his profound truisms written in colorful chalk: “Sometimes we hold onto things longer than we should.” Marie Kondo would certainly agree as the expert on tidying up—which, of course, is the name of the show that catapulted her into a … Read more
When my family gathered for the Passover Seder in 1998, I didn’t know it would be the last time I’d see my younger brother Gary alive. Fifty-one days later on the second day of the Jewish holiday Shavuot, I received a phone call at four in the morning telling me that he had died suddenly … Read more
Sometimes relationships evolve in unusual and synchronistic ways. Although this Saturday marks the 25th anniversary of my brother Gary’s sudden death, I’ve continued to experience his presence over the years in powerful, unexpected ways during many significant moments. Synchronicity is defined as the simultaneous occurrence of events, which appear significantly related but have no discernable … Read more
All of us have experienced moments of loneliness and isolation. And the reason why loneliness is so painful is because of its twin emotion: shame. People feel a sense of shame surrounding loneliness because they think it’s a sign that they’re unlovable, weak, or inadequate in some way. However, shame actually stands for “SHOULD HAVE … Read more
Recently, I heard someone use the expression, “There’s a rhinoceros in the living room that wrecked EVERYTHING and everyone is pretending it is a coffee table!” This idea illustrates the way we can often be in denial of a big, rhinoceros-sized problem—even if it’s staring right at us. It also reminds me of the curious … Read more
I remember the first time I watched a magician’s show as a child at my friend Susan’s eighth birthday party. We gathered around, seated on the floor, as the magician—who was actually a friend of Susan’s older brother—did the seemingly impossible. When he asked for a volunteer, my younger brother Gary immediately jumped up. We … Read more