Let’s Hike Together in Israel
I wrote this meditation — “On the Trail” — after 17 days thru-hiking and mountaineering on Mount Rainier. In Israel, I’m still an avid hiker. So……
Read articleTraveler’s Prayer in a Time of Pandemic
This is a new prayer for safe travel, incorporating the perils of modern life with classic language of t’filat haderech, the traveler’s prayer. It’s my third…
Read articleThe Gifts of Our Lives
This new prayer of gratitude includes an alphabetical acrostic. Acrostics were a mainstay of Jewish liturgical poems, known as piyutim. This piece combines the acrostic with a four-part…
Read articleUnseen Lands
Adventure. Joy. Love. Holiness. Gratitude. These are the themes tied into this short meditation on the joy and beauty of moving physically through the world and…
Read articleYour Light
This prayer/poem resonates with the love, hope and yearning of the one who is summoned to travel, to leave, to roam. It’s intentionally ambiguous on several levels, like…
Read articlePrayer Moments in Israel
Three moments from my wanderings in Israel: Shabbat afternoon in Netanya. I’m at a lovely lunch with a group made up primarily of long-time olim who went through an…
Read articleIsrael Soon
On Sunday I leave for Israel. This trip is about connecting with people and the land and healing from a raft of losses: my wife z”l, my…
Read articleThe Mountain of My Heart
This is another in my series of prayers for men. The title comes from a memoir of my 15-day journey on Mount Rainier, the same trip that yielded the…
Read articleOn the Road
I took buses in the wrong direction in Jerusalem twice today. The second time I landed at a bus stop an hour from my destination. I met…
Read articleFor Travel
I carry a laminated copy of Tifilat Haderech, the Traveler’s Prayer, in my suitcase. There are some seemingly antiquated references in it, such as the request for…
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