Cantor, Teacher, Writer
You gotta hand it to those ancient rabbis--they sure knew how to tackle classroom management. In fact, we read about their nuanced understanding of effective pedagogical techniques each year at the Passover Seder. Forget everything you thought you knew about education. The rabbis had it all figured out: there are simply four kinds of learners--the ...
Long ago, I think some corporate executives within the Organization of Jewish Religion decided that they had a ratings problem. Christian merch was flying off the shelves and their branding was expanding around the globe. The Jews felt they had something special--after all, it was their legacy product that set the stage for everything that ...
דע לפני מי אתה עומד Da lifnei mi atah omed Know before whom you stand These words commonly adorn the bimahs and arks of countless synagogues around the world, and presumably serve to remind us that we are in the presence of God (and to stop texting during services). Instead, could these ubiquitous words ...
Everyone loves watching the outtakes from a movie--sometimes presented during the credits or as part of the bonus features of the DVD. (Does anyone watch DVDs anymore??) Unfortunately, all of my scenes are live presentations with no chance to redo them. I've had more than a few bloopers in my many years as a cantor. ...
Over the years, my colleagues and I are constantly asked the question, "Why did you become a cantor?" The best response I ever heard was "So I could have awkward conversations with the person sitting next to me on the plane." It's something that I never envisioned, but whenever I'm a guest at an event, ...
We need a Snopes for Jewish life. You know, some kind of site where people can enter "facts" that they know about Judaism to see if they're true. (Maybe we could call it Shnapps.) While we're waiting for such a site to get launched, I'm happy to provide this installment of Jewish Mythbusters--persistent Jewish urban ...
During this winter holiday period, it seems to me that we Jews are not the only ones at risk of assimilation and losing our distinct rituals. Our non-Jewish friends are experiencing something like this as well. It seems that Christians have almost completely adopted a uniquely Jewish tradition, which threatens their own observance of Christmas. ...
