I love the connection of numbers and Torah. In macro-terms, Torah is the blueprint of the universe. What is the secret of six? According to the famous Passover song, Who Knows One?, one is God, two are the tablets, three are the forefathers, four are the matriarchs, five are the books of Torah, and six are the books of the Mishnah.

Some 3000 years ago, we were an enslaved people yearning for liberation from a tyrant. With the Haggadah, every year we gather to start our calendar anew by retelling the saga of the birth of the unbreakable soul of our nation.

The 14th of Adar, Purim, is one of my favorite holidays. I love dressing in costumes, getting together with my community and partying with friends. Hopefully, we do this more than once a year!

nveloped in my tallit. Our next-door neighbors have two adorable kids, the oldest a loquacious blonde with a favorite game. I watch him try, often successfully, to run away from his house and down the street while his panicked nanny chases him and screams epithets in Spanish. Every day he gets a little farther and she screams a little louder.

Reacquainting oneself with the power of tears is the secret to unlocking the storehouse of simcha.

Formal prayer is an acquired taste, and its acquisition is best achieved with frequency and familiarity. Hence the Jewish Catch 22: many Jews only show up to pray on the two days a year when the prayers are by far the most long-winded and daunting.

The month of Elul, before the High Holidays, is the beginning of the season of t’shuva (return). Introspection is challenging and it’s easier to ignore issues.

Tisha B’Av was once a universally observed commemoration of disasters befalling the Jewish People. Nowadays, the fast is undertaken by perhaps 10% of the tribe. That in itself is reason to mourn.

I am who I am thanks to Shabbat. Due to this biblically mandated institution, I have peace of mind, a flourishing community, a great relationship with my family and a career where I traverse the country singing its praise.

Jewish musician Sam Glaser writes a powerful post about change and becoming who you are.