Body Worn Cameras
Those familiar with Malcom Gladwell’s book Tipping Point might recognize that technological advances are now tipping the scales of justice. It is a matter of time before every police officer in this country will be outfitted with a body camera. Statistics do not tell a personal story but they do tell a collective story. […]
Dayenu — The Present is Enough
I recently received a message from my computer, which can be very courteous if it is in a good mood, alerting me that memory was almost full. Any one of your external brains may signal you about reaching critical capacity—too many photos, texts, emails etc. Can you imagine if you periodically received a message from […]
Wishes for a Meaningful Pass Over
Dear KE Community: A few years ago a group of hip Jews wrote and published The New American Haggadah for Passover. For me there was not that much new about it, and beside it being in English, I was not sure what made it American. So this year I created a new Haggadah based […]
A Fork in the Road
I am, and I suspect many of you are as well, at a crossroads. This intersection though is ever present—where past meets future at the juncture of now. It happens every minute and in the broader sweep of decades and generations. Technology is a wondrous marker of these transitions that has us contemplate: “Do I […]
The Man Who Mistook His Life for That
Many students sent me this past week a link to Oliver Sack’s My Own Life, an Op Ed piece in the New York Times. Dr. Sacks, the eminent neurologist turned author of books on people whose brains and or senses lack what some might call “normalcy” is facing his own death from liver cancer. […]
A Calendar of Blessings
When Pope Francis assumed the papacy almost two years ago he greeted the thronging crowd in xt” The he bowed his head and beseeched those in attendance (and around the world) to bless him. Do leaders need our blessing? In Hebrew, the word for blessing is Baruch (Beit-Reish-Kaf) and as pointed out in an […]
Why ask Why and other Burning Questions
One of the most profound questions ever posed is “Why ask why? “ Sakichi Toyoda was not only intrigued by the question, the founder of Toyota, devised a system for his engineers to reveal the root causes of problems. Toyoda’s 5 Whys is an iterative question-asking technique used to explore the cause-and-effect relationships underlying a […]
New Year, New Moon, New Joy
New Year NewYear, again? According to the rabbinic tradition there are four ‘new years’ every year – for months (moons), for animals (of the flock), for humans (Rosh Hashanah), and for trees. Kabbalah likewise understands that time also intersects with four worlds, existing simultaneously. These worlds have parallels in the elements (earth, water, air, fire), […]
It was the day before Chanukah
It was the day before Chanukah And all through the school Children wrestled and tussled But not to be cruel This was home for them all A place of content A refuge A dream Hours well spent In the main auditorium Gathered to learn first-aid A teacher leapt up To prevent those on stage […]
Skeptics and Synchronicity
Skeptics have a magazine, a website, a dictionary, an international conference, a camp, and a million dollar award for anyone able to prove the supernatural (http://web.randi.org/the-million-dollar-challenge.html). The Amazing Meeting, held this past year in Las Vegas, is an “annual gathering of like-minded critical thinkers devoted to the philosophy of Skepticism who enjoy some of […]