A Daughter of Zelophehad

“If this is the case, then I’ll gladly call myself a sister of Sarah”!
These spontaneous words issued from my mouth during a lecture on Genesis 20 which I presented to an interdenominational women’s Bible study I was teaching in 1997.  The opportunity to teach women from a variety of denominational settings, for a seven year [...]

The Devil in the Details

“What has been your greatest success over the past year?”  “What motivates you?”  “What is most important to you in the work environment?”  “What could improve your current work situation?”  Last week I found myself contemplating these and additional similar questions as I filled out my annual job performance review.  There’s something about answering such [...]

Facing Pipe Dreams

“It’s nothing but a pipe dream”.  I found myself thinking this cliché numerous times over the past week.  For some reason, HaShem has allowed me to face the unrealistic dreams of grandeur and fantastic hopes of several people I have encountered in a fairly short space of time. Dreams that have little basis in reality [...]

Getting Beyond The Natural

לא  תעשׂה  לך  פסל  וכל  תמונה  אשׁר  בשׁמים  ממעל  ואשׁר  בארץ  מתחת  ואשׁר  במים  מתחת  לארץ׃
I attend Hebrew class every Tuesday night.  Before our lesson begins the instructors assign a passage of scripture to be read-around by the class members.  Each person takes one verse, reads it in Hebrew and then translates it.  This past [...]

Without Hesitation

“Welcome to the School of Graduate Studies”.  As I sat in my office late one evening last week, with my feet propped up on the desk, my computer on my lap and my reading glasses perched on my nose, I found myself browsing websites of local colleges and universities offering advanced degrees in nursing. The [...]

A Very Touchy Subject

This past Tuesday, I did the same thing that approximately 38 million American’s did that day.  I watched the inauguration ceremony of President Barack Obama.  Having the day off from work I turned on the TV at approximately 11:30 and muted the sound as I went about other business in the house.  Glancing from time [...]

A Different Outlook

This past week was not a pleasant one for me.  It was one in which I felt myself to be severely outnumbered.  A week that seemed like a prolonged funeral of sorts as I received the condolences of many people regarding my now terminated trip to Israel.  It all started on Monday with the unpleasant [...]

A Bad Report

This past Erev Shabbat as I made the 40 minute drive to meet with the small Torah community I attend, my thoughts were centered on one thing; our upcoming trip to Israel.  Preliminary plans had been made in mid-November for our trip scheduled for early March. A travel agent was contacted and accommodations were agreed [...]

Packing a Lunch on Christmas Day

Christmas in the hospital has a unique quality; one that focuses on food and more food.  The food festivities commence with numerous edible gifts from various family members that begin to show up on a daily basis shortly after Thanksgiving. Next there is the Christmas luncheon were a prime rib dinner and all the fancy [...]

An Unusual Interruption

This past Shabbat as I drove to meet with three other women for a monthly accountability/Mussar group meeting, I found myself surrounded by sunshine and blue skies set off by the brilliance of snow that had freshly fallen during the overnight hours.  Yet, despite the beauty of the day I felt dull and dreary due [...]