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For Jews all over the world, today at sundown begins a new year, a time to cleanse our psyches of negativity and start anew. As our mothers used to say, the past is past. We can’t go back. But we can go forward and go full speed ahead. Rosh Hashanah is a two-day holiday that kicks off the Jewish High Holy Days. It focuses on what’s important—spending time with family and friends and maybe going to temple or synagogue to pray. We are taught in Judaism that God judges us for the year and writes his judgment in the Book of...

Memory can be fleeting at this age. Some details are reinforced with each telling while others fade, maybe lost forever. Yet, we dig into our memory pool to mark milestones— happy and sad--a big birthday or anniversary, the loss of a loved one, a book published, a tennis or golf match won, a marathon or triathlon finished, a dragon boat race furiously paddled to commemorate survival. A good race time may make such events more memorable. Yet, over time, it’s so easy to forget what really happened as we retell stories to others or in our heads, how we felt,...

  Feeling lonely can emotionally be like going down a rabbit hole. And there’s a big price to pay physically, too, such as a higher risk of heart disease, neurological issues, premature death and even suicide. You can climb out, however, though it may not be easy or swift. Humans are social animals. We need our circles and our groups to help us get through the ups and downs of everyday life and some of the tougher periods, too. We both have our close friends and Greek Choruses of women who we turn to in times of need. They have...

  Compassion. What does it mean? Is it a loving eye? A knowing heart? A nagging feeling? A certain action?    The idea for this blog came from an article by Corina Knoll in the New York Times about a homeless man called, “The Compassionate Guy” (June 5, 2023.) After graduating from Stanford University, David Breaux struggled to find his path — until he found his calling—compassion. He ended up on the streets and unfortunately was stabbed to death. But his story is one of compassion seen from various angles. Knoll writes: “He had reimagined his purpose, becoming a fixture at the intersection...

  Our lifestyles tend to be unpredictable and changeable. Within these changes are lessons—about how little in life can be truly planned for, or accurately anticipated; about how good fortunes can sometimes turn bad or turn up. And when there’s a shift in our lifestyle, our relationships are often deeply affected. A death, a divorce, a marriage, a move, a new baby, job loss or new job, an illness, will upset the balance and impact the course. Take for example a move away from friends and some family to live near your daughter, son or a sibling. How will this...