Sublime

Therefore we should see ourselves throughout the year as if our deeds and those of the world are evenly poised between good and bad, so that our next act may change both the balance of our lives and that of the world.

In my vision of the future of American Jewish life, the real test of whether a minyan is welcoming is not whether you get offered an aliyah or whether someone hands you a siddur on your way in. It will be defined by the ease in which you are drawn into each other’s homes to share a meal together on Shabbat.

If a person does not consider the purpose of everything, what is the point of his life?

Among American Jews, there is a significant demand for meaningful, engaged Jewish life.

Judaism, I discovered, demands an appreciation of complexity and scrupulous consideration of opposing views.

I have felt moral revulsion at my self-indulgence that I had been too busy and had not detected the depths of my friend’s needs. I knew that my rationalizations at the time were true, but I know that Maimonides’ words were also true—I had not taken them seriously enough. No act is too trivial.

I’m thinking that religions that have been practiced by millions, even billions of people over thousands of years might also have something to offer, possibly even something more worthwhile than that one person who set up shop a few years ago.

unless I live a life that is worthy of her reverence, I make it almost impossible for her to live a Jewish life.