Posted by admin on January 14th, 2010 — in Uncategorized
We are Hebrews that don’t know Hebrew…this is the truth, the sad truth about most American Jews. As a Hebrew major in college and someone who continues to learn Hebrew today, I am what they call “mshugah l’davar” passionate about this issue and mostly passionate about the Hebrew language.
Over the course of the last several weeks there has been a crisis in this community over the Hebrew language. We live in a community, the only community in America which offers Hebrew language in 7 public high schools on the North Shore. This year, two of these programs have been deemed “at risk” while another community is exploring bringing Hebrew to their school. I have sat on numerous conference calls, in school board meetings, all in the name of keeping Hebrew programs alive.
One of the biggest threats to Hebrew in both of these schools is Chinese. More Jewish students enroll in Chinese than in Hebrew. I get it, Chinese is the language of the future, Chinese is spoken by more people than any other language, Chinese is….not our language!
Hebrew is the only language in Modern History that has been “resurrected” after falling to complete disuse. It is an amazing story, the story of Eiezar Ben Yehudah. This is the story of The Power of One. The story of one man who was truly “m’shugah l’davar” and single handedly brought the Hebrew language out of extinction for us all to enjoy and celebrate.
This year we celebrate 150 years since the birth of Eliezar Ben Yehudah. Let’s honor this miracle worker, who brought us Modern Hebrew by committing ourselves to learning just a little ….or a lot.
Lori B. Sagarin, RJE is the Director of Congregational Learning at Temple Beth Israel in Skokie Illinois where she has served for the last 15 years. She is the immediate past president of the National Association of Temple Educators (NATE), the professional organization for Reform Educators worldwide. Currently, Sagarin serves on the iTeam, a consultant to the iCenter-The Center for Innovation in Israel education throughout North America. Lori is married to Rabbi James L. Sagarin and they have two children, Eliana age 17 and Benjamin, 11.
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Posted by admin on November 16th, 2009 — in Uncategorized
I’ve never been really “into” interfaith. Please don’t misunderstand me – I have not been anti-interfaith in my cantorate or in my work in the Jewish community. Our town has a very active ministerium, a place where I’ve discovered meaningful relationships, and where I treasure our time together. In a week our synagogue takes its turn hosting our very festive Interfaith Thanksgiving service – mostly in song, with each church/synagogue choir sharing a piece pertinent to the themes of thanksgiving, of charity, and of peace, and singing selected tunes together.
I also study family systems theory with 9 Episcopalian ministers once a month – people with whom I have shared some of the most private parts of my family system as well as work system. We have cried together and shared in each other’s lives for almost eight years now.
But I have never been overly focused on, nor felt the drive to do more in the area of interfaith. While I’ve been happy to engage in the universal themes of interfaith communities, I have felt driven to “make more Jews” – to provide those engaged in synagogue life, Jewish or non-Jewish, with the tools to deepen their Jewish journeys. My M.O. has been to focus on the Jews. I feel like for me, it’s right, and it works. But I sense that the progressive Jewish community believes that to be overly, overtly Jewish can come off as ethnocentric –that the persona of “superjew” is somehow offensive to those other faith communities among whom we live. All major faith traditions by design and purpose inwardly focus on their “correct” world view – but in my experience, progressive Jews are sometimes resistant to such a focus.
Therefore, I have never engaged seriously in what so many in the interfaith movement are doing, because I feared for (mistakenly) diluting the message of meaningful, committed Jewish life. It is challenging enough in my own Jewish community, to open people’s eyes to the transformative power of Judaism.
But then there was Faith Jam. I had the extreme honor and pleasure of being asked to participate, in a very small way, in Craig’s Faith Jam program at the URJ Biennial in Toronto in early November. I thought I understood the concept, and knew that a large production with talented singers and performers, with great vision at its helm, would be a success. That part of it was of no great surprise. What was surprising to me, was how moved I was by the experience, and how guilty I felt for not working harder to engage in a meaningful way, those of other faiths in my community. Well, if not “guilty” then I was at least inspired and motivated. Singing Oseh Shalom with an Arabic Salaam with a Catholic Arab from Haifa – was incredibly powerful, I believe for both of us. I truly felt the openness in her heart to me, and as I sang, a song I’ve sung countless times before (and will never sing the same again – religious school this morning was surreal in that regard) I felt the generosity of spirit and the real powerful pull of peace, a real peace, with music and care at its core.
I’m not sure how this new chapter will develop for me; I hope it wasn’t an open and closed experience. Maybe (though I’m not totally there yet) the message of meaningful Jewish life, through text and prayer, can become stronger, and clearer, by engaging in the message with those not of Jewish faith.
Cantor Rosalie W. Boxt is the cantor of Temple Emanuel, a Reform congregation in Kensington, Maryland. She also serves on the faculty of Hava Nashira.
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Posted by admin on November 3rd, 2009 — in Uncategorized
KOSHER SUTRA: “‘On the first day of the seventh month hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work. It is a day for you to sound the shofar [A day of blowing] Bamidbar/Numbers 29:1
SOUL SOLUTION: Healing for the body and soul.
BIBLIYOGA POSTURE: 100 breaths.
Rosh Hashannah is but three weeks away. The sages tell us that this month is a time of spiritual intensity, when the Divine Spirit – God, Hashem, Y-H-V-H – is among us like a king who is wandering in the fields to meet his people. As we progress through the countdown to the New Year, each morning begins with a hearty blowing of the shofar, a ritual ram’s horn that gives out a mournful and jubilant cry.
The 11th Century Rabbinic genius Maimonides told us that the sound of the shofar is nothing less than a call to action. Telling us to awake from our unconscious state, remember that enlightenment is all around us, remind ourselves that we are more than just slaves to emails and paying the rent. “Look to your souls” calls the philosopher, “better your ways and deeds”[1]. This isn’t a time for new year’s resolutions, but a time for solutions. We make lists about the relationships we’d like to fix and we do something about it. This is a call for action.
The famous Chinese curse wishes that you “may live in interesting times”, but the new year of Rosh Hashannah holds a key to healing from stress and pain. The day is called Yom Teruah, a day of blowing. The designated person from each community takes a deep breath, places their lips to the shofar and blows.
Except this year we have a problem.
The first day of Rosh Hashannah falls on Shabbat. The Sabbath rules override blowing the shofar. Instead of a call to return, we have silence. Instead of the age-old battle blast we hear nothing. What are we to do?
Firstly we can reflect on the essence of the day. Rosh Hashannah remembers the creation of mankind. It all began with a powerful breath from the Creator who “blew into [Adam’s] nostrils the Breath of Life, and man became a living being” (Gen 2:9). A master Kabbalist explained that we are like the shofar, with the Divine breath being breathed into us. Our actions are the music of God. We have the choice to express sweet melodies, working in harmony with others, or to create violent dischords. What kind of tune are you? How is your soul singing?
Rosh Hashannah will be a day of silence unless we choose to make it Yom Teruah, a Day of Blowing, in a completely different manner. We can replace the 100 notes of the shofar with 100 conscious breaths. The ancient yogis handed down the art of pranayama, a breath-based practice that begins with a nostril-breath and focuses on energising the body. By making our breath conscious we can become aware of our body, aware of our actions, and aware of the impact we have on others.
Enjoy your 100 breaths. Try inhaling and exhaling over a count of five, and gradually increase the length of each breath to 10. It will take a while but the results can be incredible. You may feel slightly light-headed at first so it’s worth finding a comfortable position on your chair, or cross-legged on your chair.
Wishing you a sweet new year. May you be written in the Book of Life and through your conscious breaths, enlighten the lives of others.
Healing, love and peace-
Marcus
marcus@bibliyoga.com
Marcus J Freed is a classically-trained actor, yeshiva-trained teacher, BBC-trained broadcaster and studio-trained yogi. He’s spent the last decade touring the world performing one-man Biblical comedies and in 2003 he discovered Bibliyoga®, a system for accessing Jewish spiritual wisdom through the body. Marcus has toured to over 15 countries performing his Biblical trilogy including Solomon: King, Poet & Lover and continues to enlighten students with his regular Bibliyoga emails entitled “The Kosher Sutras”. www.bibliyoga.com
Find Marcus online or on Facebook – come and join the Bibliyoga group for regular updates and email marcus@bibliyoga.com to receive regular Kosher Sutras
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Posted by admin on August 3rd, 2009 — in Uncategorized
When Craig Taubman asked me to write an entry for his blog I was quite flattered. Well actually, Craig’s assistant asked me, but that is neither here-nor-there. Having never before read a blog, I thought that I should do a little research. According to Wikipedia, the term blog is short for web log, a website that displays, in chronological order, the thoughts of one or more individuals and usually has links to comments on specific postings. I then thought that I should google a few blogs and check out my competition, but I just could not bring myself to do it. I don’t have the time or mental capacity to read (in size 10 font) the stream of conscious ramblings of people I don’t know talking about things in which they might or might not have any knowledge, understanding, or insight.
Personally, I have a shelf full of personal diaries each with a few pages filled in and the rest blank. Each journal motivated by some traumatic incident from my life, like when I was 11 and a stray cat and her kitten showed up on our doorstep and my mother refused to let them in the house.1Or, when I was 16 and went to get my drivers’ license and was prohibited from taking the test because the proof of insurance in my father’s car had expired. My father the insurance agent. 2Exciting stuff. Stuff, that I’d be embarrassed for people to read because it is reactionary, self-indulgent, an d extreme. In fact, I made a friend promise that if anything should happen to me she will come over to my house and remove my journals, and a few other incidentals, before my mother comes over to clear out my belongings. Why add humiliation and regret to her already grief-stricken state?
I just feel that the purpose of this type of writing is as a tool, a technique, a process to work through some of “your stuff” so you are better prepared to face the world. However, it seems like now, it is with this un-filtered material with which people are engaging the world. I guess there are positive aspects to blogging as modern communication, it gives voice to perspectives that might not otherwise be heard, it extends the bandwidth of dialogue throughout a global community, it prompts people to take a more conscious and reflective look at the world around them, and it provides an outlet and platform for people who previously would have had to keep all of their personal demons to themselves.
Blogging, much like skinny jeans and thinking it is ok to text in a movie theatre, is a social phenomenon that I have not bought into…yet. But then again I did not think I would ever become the type of person who would buy clothes and accessories for her dog. However, once you see how cute your bichon-poodle looks in that sweater a friend gave him for Hanukkah, the stigma diminishes a nd you succumb to the feeling of immediate gratification and pride provided by the photos of him in his Sherlock-homes style cape that protects him from the rain.
I guess this brings my first ever blog to a close. I tried to not make it too significant or insightful because that would contradict my thesis, prove the value of blogs, inspire me to read and write blogs on a regular basis, and thus add yet another thing to do on my already overflowing TO DO list. I am however curious to know what other people feel about blogs, how they filter the overwhelming amount of information “out there,” and if anyone knows where I can get a really cute but economical Purim costume for my dog.
Footnotes:
1. We fed the cat and kitten for weeks. Finally found a family to take them so we took them to the vet (7 miles away) to get their shots. The mom cat ran away as I, the 11 year old, was trying to carry them both into the doctors office sans pet carrier. The kitten got her shots so we brought her back home just in time to batten-down-the-hatches for a really bad East-Coast style storm. 10 days later, the mom cat was back on our doorstep.
2. While I was crying because the DMV people told me I’d have to reschedule my test in three months, my mother called my dad’s office and they were able to send someone out with a copy of the proper insurance certificate so I was able to take and pass my driving test that very day.
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Posted by admin on July 2nd, 2009 — in Uncategorized
Over the past month, I’ve had two opportunities to witness the power of encountering difference – of meeting someone from another tradition and absorbing its depth and richness.
The more recent of these took place last week. I had the privilege of joining 24 other Jews and 25 Catholics in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, a stone’s throw from the Pope’s summer residence. We all were “emerging leaders” (read: young-ish, though the Catholics tended to stress the “emerging” part and the Jews tended to stress the “leaders” part). Convened by the Vatican and a high-level Jewish group called the International Jewish Committee on Interreligious Consultations, our group’s purpose ostensibly was to frame new priorities in Catholic-Jewish dialogue.
Earlier in June, I had a similar encounter in Chicago, only this time it wasn’t an inter-religious meeting but rather an intra-religious one. In a consultation called Pray Different, I watched as Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, Reconstructionist, and post-denominational ba’alei t’filot (prayer leaders), mostly but not exclusively clergy, explored emerging forms of communal prayer being developed at places like Hadar, the Institute of Jewish Spirituality, Romemu, and Hebrew College’s rabbinical school.
What did these two gatherings have in common?
First, there was, ironically, the extent of Jewish diversity. Even when we are engaging those of a different faith entirely – and especially in conversation with the Catholic Church – the breadth and variety of Judaism is readily apparent. Sometimes our differences create challenges, as in Italy when our Catholic counterparts looked somewhat bewildered as we negotiated how to pray together and occasionally contradicted one another without anyone being wrong. More often, though, they yield historical depth and spiritual riches, as in Chicago when clergy of different movements (and no movement) created moments of holiness together through creative liturgies that bridged the denominational divide.
Second, and less easy to contend with, was the question of generational change. At Castel Gandolfo, while the conference specifically engaged 20- and 30-somethings, some questioned whether its purpose was to draw us into existing structures and priorities, or instead to empower us to act on the new approaches and issues we identified. In Chicago, the tension was between the needs and limits of existing congregational institutions that serve the broad population of c’lal Chicago, on the one hand, and, on the other, the newminyanim and chavurot (prayer groups) and other startups that express the vision of very specific groups of people.
And what do I take away from my month of inter-group encounters?
Whether we are speaking with one another as Jews or with our friends and neighbors of different traditions, we are strongest when we celebrate the entire mosaic of spiritual expression – every voice authentic in its own way – and when we expand the number of pathways to community and connection, for as many people as possible. We need not travel halfway around the world to find opportunities to build bridges of faith; and no matter how far we venture, we’ll always find the bonds of community, if only we open ourselves to the encounter.
_____
Shawn Landres is the co-founder and CEO of Jumpstart, an incubator, catalyst, and think tank for sustainable Jewish innovation. An interreligious activist with expertise in evangelical-Jewish, Catholic-Jewish, and Muslim-Jewish affairs, Shawn lives in Los Angeles with his wife Zuzana Riemer Landres and their one year-old daughter Abigail.
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Posted by admin on June 1st, 2009 — in Uncategorized
There is nothing like the smell of mass chicken being cooked for a bunch of little children on a Shabbat at camp. The first Shabbat at camp is always so exciting and special, like I have been waiting for this night for an entire year.
The last month of school, I can’t focus. My mind travels around the memories of camp- staying up late with my bunk stuffing our faces with stale goldfish, dressing up as three year olds while our counselors handed us cookies and milk and gave us the freedom to regress into careless, lighthearted, free- three year old- spirits.
Being at camp only really settles in on that first Friday. I am not going to lie. For me, those first few days at camp are always a little difficult. I miss my parents and convince myself that I WANT TO GO HOME. I haven’t yet had the yearly epiphany that there is nothing better and more fantastic than three whole weeks, parentless, with 18 year old counselors, in a bunk of 12 wonderful girls, in the middle of Yosemite. Who needs parents? I do need them though since they put five thousand dollars a summer into allowing me to dress up as a three year old and become certified in jazzercising.
But, let’s get back to that first Friday. I wake up in the morning, roll out of bed, and with a huge smile, I think to myself, its Shabbos! The air is definitely different. The excitement at camp on this day is contagious. My whole body tingles just thinking about freilach (a song/dance session where I normally burn an average of 600 calories). There is no pressure on Fridays, with the exception of preparing for our unit Kaballat Shabbat. I basically sit around by the pool, collage my water bottle at Arts and Crafts, and possibly get the chance to cleanse my body in the Toualme River. I mean come on, what more can you ask for?
I have had the incredible opportunity to have gone to two, very different Jewish summer camps, but I must say, the cold shower on Shabbat due too lack of hot water, and the swarms of girls in the bathroom is exactly the same at every camp. There is nothing like the smell of Herbal Essence shampoo steaming around my face mixed with the wondrous scent of burnt hair from the excessive straightening, blow-drying, and on rare occasion, curling. Who brings a curling iron to camp?
For me the pinnacle of a camp Shabbat is when my counselors stand around our bunk’s table, embrace us warmly with their arms and bless us.
“May the Lord protect and defend you, may the Lord preserve you from pain.”
This moment is so special to me since one of my favorite parts of Shabbat at home is when my dad blesses me. I feel satisfied and comforted knowing that I am allowed to experience new things, explore new interests, and have unlimited support from the staff and my fellow campers.
Of course, on the first Friday, my “I want to go home” gets replaced with “I don’t want leave! I can’t believe we only have one more Shabbat!” But thank gosh for those disposable Kodak cameras, I come home with ONLY Shabbat pictures.
“Look, there’s me with every member of my bunk. Oooh, and this one is of me and the coolest counselor ever.” And if I am lucky, I come home with the prize possession: A picture of me and the hottest lifeguard at camp!
Gotta go! I have to go pack for camp. This time, I’m the staff member.
_____
Do you have camp stories to share? Please send them to Rachel at info@craignco.com
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Posted by admin on April 30th, 2009 — in Uncategorized
I was invited to do an interview on Equality Arizona Radio to speak about the relationship of the Jewish Community with GLBTQ people: gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, queer or questioning. So many labels!
I didn’t really know what to expect in the interview, and I wasn’t sure where I would go with the conversation. In the Olden Days, I would have been on edge, unable to rationalize the discriminatory practices of the Jewish community. After all, when I first entered rabbinical school in the late 1970’s, it was not possible to be an openly gay person and a rabbi. I withdrew from Rabbinical School at the Jewish Theological Seminary because I couldn’t reconcile who I was, and found hiding and lying to be contrary to my beliefs about right and wrong. There was no such thing at that time as an openly gay rabbi, or for that matter, a female rabbi.
I was the first openly gay person to be ordained by the Academy for Jewish Religion in New York in 1994, but that is ancient history. In recent years, the Jewish community has radically changed with regard to people who are gay or lesbian.
At the interview, and the questions were pretty tame. There was almost nothing but progress to talk about. In the last two years, Conservative Judaism has begun to ordain people who are gay or lesbian, and many of the most conservative of Conservative rabbis have shifted their perspective towards the involvement, acceptance and integration of gay and lesbian people in the Jewish community. Where GLBTQ Jews could not teach, lead or be openly present in the Jewish community, that discrimination has disappeared! Now, Reform, Conservative, Reconstructionist, and Renewal Judaism have all become GLBTQ friendly!
I am not going to talk about the Orthodox Judaism. I don’t turn to Orthodoxy for religious guidance, and don’t see Orthodox Judaism as being more valid or authentic than the rest of the Jewish community. Yet, I do note that quietly some Orthodox rabbis have changed their perspectives on GLBTQ issues.
I found myself talking about the GLBTQ Jews who don’t affiliate with congregations. The vast majority of Jewish people aren’t affiliated; GLBTQ Jews are no different from anyone else when it comes to not affiliating with our congregations.
Yet, I wonder how many GLBTQ Jews know they would be welcomed at our congregations? How would GLBTQ Jews know that they will not be rejected for being who they are? The question for me, and for you, is how do we let the GLBTQ Jews know that everything has changed? A revolution has happened far too quietly! How do we go from the assumption of rejection to the reality of integration in our congregations? How do we welcome people home to our congregations?
It’s not enough to say “we won’t reject you.” Every congregation should include GLBTQ friendly to their website and printed materials. Every congregation should be advertising in the GLBTQ media to let people know they are now “safe”. It’s incumbent on every congregation to actually reach out to the people who have been rejected for so long, so they know about this radical change.
“GLBTQ friendly” isn’t enough. We have to show it in all that we do. We can’t be heterosexist in our approach to Jewish family life. The implications are enormous, from our membership forms to our newsletter, to our events. Are there events for “couples” that really are not all that welcoming to different kinds of couples? Are there singles’ events for straights, and a complete absence of programming for single Jewish GLBTQ people? Can you do more, and if the answer is yes, why aren’t you?
Another odd implication of this change has also come to my experience. In the olden days, I used to have to hide that I was gay from the Jewish community (yeah, like that worked!). In some ways, in the GLBTQ Community, I hid that I was a rabbi. It seemed inappropriate for me, as a rabbi, to put that title out there to the greater GLBTQ community. I didn’t know how to “come out” as a rabbi in a community that was rejected by rabbis (and others) for so long!
I noticed my first sense of liberation from this when I started advertising my practice as an Integrative Life Coach. I now have an ad in a GLBTQ bi-weekly magazine, am active in the Greater Phoenix Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, using my title. I can be open, and integrated, about who I am, THANK G!D!
Holy One of Blessing, we acknowledge You for keeping us alive, sustaining us, and enabling us to reach this time!
Rabbi H. Rafael Goldstein has a private practice as a Integrative Life Coach, specializing in working with people living with serious illness, experiencing significant loss, in recovery from drug and alcohol abuse, GLBTQ issues, and people struggling to find meaning in life. He is the founder of Dynamics of Hope Consulting. He can be reached at 602-459-1819 or ravrafael@earthlink.net. This article, or parts of it, will appear in Echo Magazine in Phoenix and The Phoenix Jewish News.
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Posted by admin on April 1st, 2009 — in Uncategorized
Liberating Passover
We have made preparing for Passover so burdensome and bothersome that people either seek out resorts or resort to not observing much more than a seder. What follows is a reminder of this holiday’s core message and ways in which we can observe it and not be enslaved to it.
Being a Jew means being a child of the Exodus from Egypt and that entails believing in the possibility of change. The Torah insists that we are not destined for some predetermined end but have the power to design and shape our world. Our status at birth does not bind us till death. Nor should external socioeconomic conditions or internal narrowness of mind and heart control us.
Our people’s rhythm rolls from slavery to freedom and our history exemplifies what can happen as we have moved so many times from the cusp of destruction to a state of vitality. We are the people of possibility.
To be this possible people we must have freedom. In fact, freedom is a perquisite for living with possibility for it is in freedom that we see the choices that lay open before us. Slaves live in the pits and narrow places, confined by walls established by others and have no conception of qualitative time. Horizons appear when we are lifted up and free. Freedom brings the recognition that time is not about quantity but quality.
Passover is about seeing the horizons of the possible for this is what it means to be alive. So we remove leavened products because leavening is a process of decay and therefore associated with death and death occurs when possibilities cease to exist, when time is reduced to quantity alone. We clean away the old and stale that block out light. We remember who once we were and how we have changed. And we gather as a community to reaffirm that the life of the possible is not for one person alone, but exists in how we relate to, support and strengthen each other.
Jonathan Bernhard
Rabbi, Adat Ari El
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Posted by admin on March 3rd, 2009 — in Uncategorized
My name is Michael and I am the new intern here at Craig N’ Co. I wanted to find an internship relating to music because-well, music is just my passion. I was going to get a gig as a personal assistant for Christian Bale but I heard that Craig was nicer to his staff. I was a bit apprehensive about the whole “Jewish theme” but this whole spirituality thing is actually really neat. Craig and Rachel are totally awesome, and instead of doing coffee runs for some unappreciative big wig artist, I’m actually learning a lot about the music business from an insightful and knowledgeable guy. I have been put in charge of internet marketing and have been working hard to update Craig’s Facebook fan page. Craig is the nicest boss in the world and I wish that everyone in the world could have bosses like him. (Craig, are you reading this? Because I really need a good grade on this internship project.)
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Posted by craignco on February 3rd, 2009 — in Uncategorized
So, as some of you may know, I recently left my cushy digs at Craig ‘N Co. for the harsh hinterland of Chicago. And while my mom and dad have welcomed me back with open arms (and as many peanut butter & jelly sandwiches as I can possibly eat), I’ve realized that I will never be able to replace my Extended West Coast Jewish Family (EWCJF).
The EWCJF was my gateway to things I had no idea existed. Things like Jewish gospel and country music (thanks Joshua and Mare!). Rap songs about Hanukkah, sometimes performed spontaneously at the height of spring (thanks Craig!). And Manischewitz (thank you NO ONE).
**if you’d rather not offend Manischewitz-lovers, substitute “And flavored Matzah (thank you NO ONE).” Although my hatred of Manischewitz is much more palpable.
These things scared the living hell out me at first. Some of them, I came to love as if they were second nature. For crying out loud, I am now known throughout the land as the guy who belts out his own rendition of Al Kol Ele, IN YIDDISH, at any moment’s notice. But whether or not I took to each new idea, food, song that popped into Craig’s head, or whatever else, the simple fact that I collided with it helped to expand my known universe just a little bit. And in all honesty, especially with the benefit of hindsight, I think that’s what I was really trying to do in LA.
Now, in all fairness, EWCJF, I had initially hoped that I would discover these new worlds within my chosen fields of acting and music performance. With the exception of a few choice appearances (thanks Verizon! thanks Japanese ice cream commercial!), things didn’t quite work out that way.
But hey, as a great man once said, “It’s only a Journey…across a very narrow bridge.” (thanks Billy Joel. Err, Craig.)
And thanks EWCJF. I mean it with all my heart.
Michael Crowley currently resides in Chicago and works in public affairs and communications. He misses the Jewish world terribly.
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