.יַעֲלוּ הָרִים, יֵרְדוּ בְקָעוֹת–אֶל-מְקוֹם, זֶה יָסַדְתָּ לָהֶם The mountains rose, the valleys sank down–unto the place which Thou hadst founded for them from Rosh Chodesh Psalm 104 Psalm 104 is my favorite because it channels all the grandeur of nature and attributes it to G-d. And I found that on a hike on an unseasonably
John Chamberlin died at the age of 85 in April of 2001, and I have his computer. ✡ ✡ ✡ I frequently tell the story about my romance with KayPro CP/M machines. I learned Pascal and BDS C on the KayPro 2X my father gave me in the 1980s. I did my homework on that
The only thing that stank about this record dump of snow was the loss of our mailbox. Somewhere, in a drift on Baker Road, is the array of mailboxes belonging to our neighbor and us. My snowblower, which I affectionately refer to as “Black Betty,” easily conquered 32″+ drifts, once I realized the shear pins
A few weeks ago, I cut some recent deadfall on our property to start “seasoning it” in our woodpile. Last night, after Shabbos, I grabbed some wood from the wrong pile for our woodstove, and realized later that my fingers were sticky. I thought it was a cool corollary to Tu B’Shevat, where we know
The gematria for the Hebrew word for snow, שלג (sheleg), is 333, which is the same value of the word שכחה (shich’cha) for forgetfulness. Parents of children out of Maine schools for two, possibly three days, may be worried about forgetfulness when it comes to academics. Some rabbi, and I’m never going to remember the source,
A few years ago, I read a book about the origin of Hanoten Teshua, the traditional Jewish prayer for government.1 The evolution of this prayer or even the evolution of Jewish prayers for nation, is clearly linked to the Jewish experience in Diaspora. This prayer, of course, even though in rare liturgical use by the majority
I think that if the beast who sleeps in man could be held down by threats—any kind of threat, whether of jail or of retribution after death—then the highest emblem of humanity would be the lion tamer in the circus with his whip, not the prophet who sacrificed himself. But don’t you see, this is
The family took a trip to Rockland today. One of the marvelous things about living where we do is that we’re technically “Mid-Coast,” and so much of the tourist trap Maine coast is day-trip accessible. On our way out of our driveway, something cast a pall over the rest of the day. A blue Great
In working on my book about “kosher” backpacking, one thing stands out – Judaism isn’t really big on the outdoors. Even Sukkot, which to me screams “outdoor holiday,” is commoditized and safely packaged, even among the Ultra-Orthodox. Sure, there’s camp, but take your kids to one, and it’s not about outdoor adventure. It’s about Zionism,
“…a regular snowstorm has commenced, fine flakes falling steadily, and rapidly whitening all the landscape. In half an hour the russet earth is painted white even to the horizon. Do we know of any other so silent and sudden a change?” Thoreau Leah and I decided to rename our property עץ קר, or “cold tree”,
Writer, President of Bangor's Congregation Beth Israel, soldier, programmer, father, musician, Heeb, living in the woods of Maine with three ladies and a dog.
Director of Education for Congregation Beth Israel in Bangor, Maine, special educator and former school board member, mother to Amelia and Nezzie.
