Jewels 2013

Dear Friends, Thank you for being a part of our 9th year of Jewels of Elul. I hope that you found the Jewels from the

Years ago, I was invited to visit the home of then Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott. It was the first time a U.S. Senator had allowed me

The Book of Genesis (18:1-2) relates that shortly after Abraham’s Circumcision, G-d appeared while he sat recuperating in the groves of Mamrei. While he was

Last summer, I met a group of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) Jewish teens at a Shabbaton for LGBTQ youth. Each teen described

“And all the congregation of Israel are forgiven, along with the strangers living in their midst…” (Inspired by Numbers 15:26, used in liturgy for Kol

Fifteen years ago I experienced a serious bout of depression that was devastating and painful. The mental anguish and the hopelessness that entered my world

When imagining welcoming a new life into this world, we often envision a birthing mother, sweat dripping from her brow after hours of hard labor,

As a sixth-generation American whose relatives fought in every war from the Civil War to the Iraq War, I wanted to do something to give

At Ritz-Carlton, every one of the ladies and gentlemen who work for us carry a wallet-sized credo card with them at all times. It states

The art of welcoming rests on a central Jewish idea: every human being is created in the image of God. When we see each other

Each summer my wife, Merle, and I host storytelling workshops at our North Carolina home. About two-dozen people are with us for these events. Attendees

For me, the word “welcoming” is deeply associated with the word “opening” – opening a door, a heart, a mind. Opening your eyes in order

Welcome. What a lovely word. Welcome to my home. Nothing pleases me more than to stand at my front door and welcome guests arriving with

In the early 1980’s as a law student in the Pico Union neighborhood of Los Angeles, I noticed several times a week people gathering in

The art of welcoming is an integral part of Nefesh B’Nefesh’s daily efforts to help build a stronger Israel. Our organization has made its mark

The New Year is a time to take stock of what you have accomplished in the past year as well as dream of what could

No one would ever choose to join our club. We don’t want any new members. We welcome them sadly; they come to us reluctantly. And

As a child at Jewish summer camp, I liked playing drama games. One of my favorites was “mirroring.” Facing my partner, we tried to mimic

For more than a century, American Jewry’s passionate effort to ensure that America was a welcoming country for immigrants was infused by powerful historical lessons.

It’s when you’re all around a dinner table. / Sitting. / And talking and laughing. / When nobody has their phone on. / When dinner

In his book, Relational Judaism, Dr. Ron Wolfson describes the engagement strategy of Chabad as “radical hospitality.” He portrays Chabad rabbis as those who “build

The final scene of the movie Love Actually is worth a quick look. The closing is particularly meaningful in parity with the opening of the

We welcome the companionship but wish the circumstances were different. Will we know the meit (the deceased) or recognize the body that was loaned to

My family’s story in Los Angeles begins humbly. One side of my family crossed an ocean to flee persecution in Poland and Russia. The other

You know that feeling: when you walk into an impossibly chic boutique or a country club as someone’s guest and people let you know, you

The Talmud: dense and legalistic, tales of rabbis, matrons, kings and folk, surprising, challenging, cryptic, dry, fascinating, multilayered, heavenly, earthly – This is the Talmud

Welcome to Heaven! / Did I really make it here? I didn’t think I was all that great. / Oh, you were fine. / Really?

Let’s be honest. The world doesn’t always welcome us. Sometimes, it’s up to us to find our own way to welcome. I grew up in

“The soul should always stand ajar, ready to welcome the ecstatic experience.” ~ Emily Dickinson An inviting tap on the empty chair next to me

“Let all who are hungry come and eat.” We associate those words with the Passover seder. They express an imperative that applies all year long: Jewish tradition

Dear Friends, The theme of this year’s Jewels, The Art of Welcoming, was inspired by a project on which I recently embarked. Last January, I