The Tower of Babel Turned Upside Down (Noach 5777)

"Tower of Babel" by Theodor 'Dr. Seuss' Geisel

This week Jewish Community High School of the Bay (JCHS)  honored Hispanic Heritage Month (deferred for us a few days because of the Jewish holidays). Our students were inspired to hear from classmates and educators about their Hispanic heritage made them feel special and what made them feel different. 

One feature discussed by the panel was the variety and number of languages embraced by the term Hispanic heritage." As I young person I knew only one language. Only later did I study Spanish and Hebrew. One helped me to feel part of one community and the other a different community. (More on diversity in language below.)  

I confess, however, that mostly in junior high school I feared standing out by seeming different. It is a common teen fear. I just wanted to fit in or, even better, disappear. I learned over time to treasure what makes me different and what makes others' differences so valuable.

Your Ears So Big You Make Dumbo Jealous (Yom Kippur 5777)

"Your ears so big, you make Dumbo jealous." Or "Your ears so small, you can't hear when people insult you." Or "Your ears aren't so big ... for a basset hound." These are the kinds of casual insults you hear on a school yard (or, this year, on the presidential campaign). 

Given the features on my face, I received my share of insults in school, such as: "Is that your nose, or a ski jump?" And "Is that your nose, or did someone park a blimp on your face?"

Sure these make us chuckle, but they aren't funny.

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.