I am husband and father, / Brother, son, colleague, and friend.

I am a congregational rabbi, / And a Jew in the pews.

I am a cancer survivor, / And support those with cancer, / And heart disease, / And dementia, / And mental illness, / And people in bad marriages, / And with troubled kids, / And unsatisfying jobs, / And too little money, / And frustrated lives.

I am one human being, / And life moves through me, / And through you, / Except when it doesn’t.

Life is wondrous, / Most of the time, / But sometimes it hurts like hell!

There is a second me too, / And a second you – / The always-present Neshamah / That hovers and waits / To become one with Nefesh, / The earthly-animal-life-force / That keeps us alive.

The Neshamah connects us to Divinity, / And infuses us with Essence, / And inspires us To think and know / That we come closest to God / When we know that we are no-thing / And part of the All.

When we are most receptive to Neshamah / Our lives work.

In Elul each morning I awake wondering – / What is my greatest challenge? / What troubles me about me? / What gives me heartache and grief? / What ruins keep me enslaved?

Am I patient and kind enough, / Generous and respectful enough, / Understanding and wise enough, / Appreciative and grateful enough?

The Yamim Noraim are coming! / There is little time.