Jewels 2008

I entered the Seminary in September of 1941. On December 7, Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, and we were at war. That very day, all the

On December 25th, 1988, I received my visa from the American Embassy in Damascus. For the first time in my life, I would be able

My passion for space began at the age of ten in my fourth grade science class. I was a shy kid with a knack for

We have always been committed to the promise, “Never Again,” and to the dream of Israel flourishing as a successful state living in peace.  When the second

We all have challenges! There will always be obstacles to fulfilling our dreams and goals. The difference between successful people, champions, and everyone else is

If you don’t like the way things are, quit whining. Find a Dreamer who’s “The Real Thing,” bring the dream down from Dreamland, and help

At a lecture about the Rwandan genocide and its aftermath, I was stunned to learn that there were 1.2 million orphans in Rwanda. With no

There’s nothing more boring than someone else’s dreams. I’m referring to have-them-while-you-sleep dreams, not I-want-to-do-that-someday dreams – there’s an enormous difference. It’s very boring when

Although there were many factors that pushed me, my path to the rabbinate became clear on the 11th day of April, 1979, corresponding to the

I have never been much of a dreamer. Maybe a better term for what I am is imaginer. Spinning fantasies as a way of putting

I was incredibly fortunate. I got to learn about dreams from the master dreamer: Walt Disney. It was back in 1984. I had just come to

Just as the courageous Zionists who established the State of Israel were energized by Theodore Herzl’s dictum, so do Americans draw inspiration from the notion

I remember the day I realized, at age eight, that I might not be the most beautiful girl in the world. Getting out of the

I was introduced to the concept of Jewish solidarity when I was eight years old, thanks to a red winter hat. Actually, many red winter

Being a philanthropist, I am constantly exposed to the dreams of dreamers. The hardest job is choosing which ones to support and build upon. For

Once upon a time I had a dream.   Like most of my dreams, it came to me in my sleep.  It was an idea

God whispered to Moses, “Ehyeh asher ehyeh: I will become more; yet I am born from what already is.” Jewish prayer is ancient, yet it

I’ve often found that I am more afraid of success than failure.With failure, you know what comes next: You change something and try again, or

My father spent his teenage years in the Chestochowa ghetto and the Nazi concentration camps of Dora, Buchenwald and Bergen-Belsen. During those years, he lost

Subconsciously, I already knew at the age of four that I wanted to swim. When my parents took me to the pool and the coach said I

When my son, Ben, was in Iraq, I had a lot of vivid dreams. In one, a child pulled a small dark winged stone from

“I’m through accepting limits ’cause someone says they’re so. Some things I cannot change but ’till I try, I’ll never know. I think I’ll try

I have been working at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for twenty-six years.While working on the unmanned exploration of the solar system, the two words that

With your two hands, your active mind, and a will that never accepts the word “No,” it is inexcusable not to find a way to

I am dreaming of six towering barbwire shapes made from mirror-polished stainless steel, placed globally, that will serve as a monument and reminder for human

The Jewish month of Elul is both a time for reflection and one of hope for the future.  Jewish tradition teaches that a person is

Erev Shabbat, July 18, 2008.  Berlin’s Pestalozzistrasse Synagogue. One of the few non-native parishioners in a packed pre-World War II sanctuary, I daven, mesmerized by

As someone who fell in love with God and Torah as a collegian, I dreamed I would have a child with whom I would share

I almost never dream.On that rare occasion when I do, it’s the typical dream that Freud would be proud of. I fly through the air.