Dreaming of the Year Ahead: Essential Lessons From Shimon Peres z"l (Rosh Hashanah 5777)

At this season, the Jewish new year (“Rosh Hashanah”) exhorts us to dream big. It is a time to reflect on the year that has ended and to dedicate ourselves toward returning to the best of ourselves, deepening relationships that are dear to us, meeting the profound needs of others, and reaching the highest ideals of Torah. Those are huge aspirations. The juxtaposition this weekend of the Friday funeral for Shimon Peres, former prime minister and president of Israel, the Saturday Torah reading, and the start of Rosh Hashanah on Sunday night call to mind powerful lessons about these aspirations.

Shimon Peres believed deeply in the power of dreams and imagination. He said, “We should use our imagination more than our memory.” Using our imagination more than our memories is precisely what this Jewish season is about. We don’t discard our memories; we use them to animate our aspirations. We reflect on the year that is ending -- through our memories -- in order to inspire our dreams for the year ahead -- our imagination.

The Ultimate Selfie: Judging Oneself (Shoftim 5776)

Think for a moment about the screen image you see looking at your smiling face about to snap a selfie. Now compare that first, screen image to the actual photo that gets stored when you snap the selfie. Both are you; but they are not exactly the same!

The first screen image is reversed in the saved photo image. The first image is just like looking at yourself in the mirror. The saved image is the reverse. The first image is the one we know best; it is the most familiar to us. We've been looking at it for years. 

But other people see us in reverse. They see, in effect, the saved photo image. We see the mirror image; we've conditioned ourselves to see it whenever we brushed our teeth or adjusted ourselves in front of a mirror. 

Free Throws or Free Will: "See I Am Putting a Choice Before You Today" (Re'eh 5776)

At the start of a school year there are lots of promises about trying harder to do the ‘right’ things or to make better choices. As schools are so filled with learning that we sometimes confuse what it takes to do the right thing or make better choices. We sometimes think that learning will move us to make the right choice. But, for most of us, that’s not true. We already know right from wrong; we already know which choice is better for us. The challenge lies somewhere else.

The extraordinary career of one of my childhood basketball heroes, Wilt Chamberlain, illustrates this. I am grateful a Malcolm Gladwell podcast about him reminded me of this. If Wilt were still alive he would have turned 80 years old this month. He was extraordinary. Although he retired from the NBA in 1973, he still holds more NBA records than any other player - ever.

Wilt was a prolific scorer. He accumulated 34,419 points in 14 NBA seasons at a time when there were no three-point shots. By way of comparison, Steph Curry has played 7 NBA seasons and accumulated 11,089 points. At Curry's pace, if he played as many seasons as Wilt, Curry would fall short of Wilt by about 9,000 points.

But Wilt’s free throw percentage was dreadful.

What Time Is It When An Elephant Sits on Your Fence? Time to Start a New School Year (Ekev 5776)

On the first day of classes at JCHS I revealed to students why there is a really big jar of Laffy Taffy in my office. Students stop by all through the day to grab some candy, which gives me a chance to ask about their day or their lives. And to share a Laffy Taffy riddle so that we laugh together.

I also told them about how my parents used riddles and humor to help the much-younger-me respond to school stress. If my parents could get me laughing, the stress would drop. I remember one time moving to a new elementary school - anxious about making friends, meeting new teachers, living in a new neighborhood - my parents gave me 101 Elephant Jokes so that I might chuckle away the stress. 

Later I learned it was written by a ninth grader! Like the riddles on Laffy Taffy wrappers, that book and other elephant jokes still make me laugh, with classics like:

Toward Relationships That Honor, Encourage, and Strengthen (Ve'et-chanan 5776)

The first day of school, even for high schoolers, is a big deal. New social, academic, and emotional challenges await. There are exciting new chances to explore one’s unfolding self. The role of friends is crucial. So, too, is the role played by parents and teachers. For instance, research confirms that parental encouragement in high school and through the many transitions that occur in high school positively impact academic performance.

Belonging to Summer: A Time for Daring Greatly (Beha'alotecha 5776)

ImageThink graphic recap Brown 2016 SXSW keynote

My first summer camp experience was painful! I felt alone and vulnerable. At first, summer camp made me sick. I was seasick - riding a tiny ferry across choppy ocean waves to an island based Boy Scout camp. Then I was homesick - being placed in a tent by myself because, it seemed to me, I was young and uncool. Then I was just plain sick - it rained early and late; I caught a cold. I wrote tear-stained letters home offering to be nicer to my sister if only someone would rescue me from camp. I was ashamed about crying so much. I was 11 years old.

The Gift of a Mezuzah for Graduation (Graduation 2016) (Shavuot 5776)

My precious students:* I have a virtual gift for you inspired by a story told by Rabbi Susan Silverman, the sister of comedian Sarah Silverman. It is about a gift their mother, Beth Ann received at a moment of profound transition - her wedding. Her mother received this gift at a bridal shower or some other wedding event. Beth Ann, carefully unwrapped the gift -- it was a mezuzah.

A mezuzah is that little box attached to the side of a doorpost of a Jewish home. Inside is a scroll onto which are hand-calligraphed two passages from Torah.

According to Silverman family legend, Beth Ann pulled out the scroll. Unrolled it. Looked at it for a moment, then said something like: “G** dammit! The directions are in Hebrew!” 

Here [holding up parchment] is a scroll like the one Beth Ann opened. For her the contents of this scroll were a mystery. But for you, after four years at Jewish Community High School of the Bay (@jchsofthebay), you know it is not a mystery but rather a reminder of the most powerful lessons from Torah. We celebrate receiving Torah each year with the festival of Shavuot that begins in just two days.