Even if we believe that the Divine is all around us and in us, it's hard to shake loose the metaphor of verticality. What do you do to ascend to celestial heights? And how do you pour that back into the everyday?

We are at a crossroads: one path moving forward and one circling back. Thankfully, we are very good at circles. Some thoughts coming out of Sukkot, Hoshanah Rabbah, Shemini Atzeret, and Simchat Torah.

Spending a month alone in Worms was an unresearched, romantic idea. It wasn't what I was looking for. But maybe it was what I needed.

In this moment of crisis, we need to let things arise and evaporate, leaving us unburdened enough to do the work of peace. Dew Season can suggest how.

On a trek to 15,000 feet, my greatest companion was Psalm 121. (The other companions were pretty amazing too.) A report-back on a struggle, a summit, and a psalm.

There is a dark side to Purim – Jewish self-defense gone out of control. How do we keep from becoming Amalek in responding to those we've labeled Amalek? What if Amalek is not outside us but in us? What do we need to do to begin to wipe it out beyond memory? Press play below for audio (and sorry about the loud rain on the roof).

A vision isn't moot just because there isn't currently the will and skill to carry it off. There will be. A drash on Parashat Pekudei, plus a musical setting of Vihi Noam. (And an extra opening story in this audio version.)

How is it that we can listen to a voice in our ear, directing us on paths that we know will lead to disaster, and still not question? Two weeks in Israel: war, rain, sorrow, and a GPS disaster.

The war in Israel and Gaza has, I notice, offered to Supporters of Israel and Supporters of Palestine proof of what they already believed. And our city councils have become the proxy battleground. Righteousness is easy. Blame is easy. But empathy is hard and will break us open. If we can't manage some empathy here, what hope is there for reconciliation in the land we all love? This is a Come-to-Pharaoh Moment.

Nations have a life of their own, behaving in ways few individuals would. Maybe remembering the angel of the collective can bring out our best.