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The Secret to Counting Your Blessings: A Jewish Story

Counting our blessings is not something that always comes naturally. Often it’s easier to count our problems.

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We are late on a project. Our house needs work. If, God forbid, we have a serious health problem or lose our job, it can consume us.

Focusing on our problems, we sometimes overlook our blessings. As a father, I know I do this. I complain that my kids do not go to sleep on time much more than I express gratitude for being blessed with healthy, happy kids.

Sometimes we need a little push to remind us of our blessings. Continue reading

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3 Healthy Boundaries to Help Preserve Your Sanity

“What should I call you?” Rabbis and pastors  get this question a lot.

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What do we say? It depends. Some times I say  “Call me Evan.” Sometimes it’s “Rabbi Evan.”  Other times I say say “I prefer Rabbi Moffic.” Sometimes I say in private “Evan” is fine, but in public please use “Rabbi Moffic.”

I admit I have little rhyme or reason to my answers.

I imagine doctors and teachers face a similar dilemma. The truth is, however, is that the question is about much more than names. It is about relationships, authority, respect, and maintaining proper boundaries within an increasingly informal and free-for-all culture. 

Having just returned from a leading a session on boundaries at a rabbinic conference (with my friend and colleague Rabbi Leah Cohen), I realized how critical boundaries are for everybody. Boundaries are about saying yes and saying no. Continue reading

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The One Person You Really Need to Meet

A member of my synagogue recently reminded me of a basic truth. Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care.

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Put differently, in life the head less is less important than the heart. To do anything well, you need to know yourself and the heart that drives you.

In any job–including the clergy–it’s easy to become wrapped up in the meetings, the processes, the emails. We get so caught up in what to do that we forget why we do it. We can get so caught up in what we are doing that we fail to notice who we are becoming. Continue reading

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The Best Jewish Wisdom on Parenting

My oldest daughter just turned eight, and my youngest is about to turn six. I’ve been thinking a lot about the journey of fatherhood so far.

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The best book I read before coming a dad was Crawling: A Father’s First Year. With its focus on the sheer joy and anxiety of a baby’s first year, it came closest to preparing me for the humbling shock and awe of becoming a parent.

Despite my fondness for the book, I soon realized no guide can prepare you for this journey. Every parent ultimately realizes this. The best we can do is draw from our own experience and the wisdom of those who came before us. Continue reading

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Antisemitism At My Alma Mater

Three weeks ago I received a strange email. “Did I know,” my friend wondered, “about the antisemitism brewing on the Stanford University campus?”

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A young woman running for student senate had become subject to a barrage of hostility because of her religion and support for Israel. A campus newspaper reported that some student groups forbid its members from affiliating with any Jewish groups. Then, three days ago, student awoke to a swastika spray painted on a fraternity house.

The Stanford University which I attended between 1996 and 2000 was far different. Israel was celebrated. The President of the school frequently noted that Israel’s then-Prime Minister, Ehud Barak, earned his graduate degree at Stanford.

What Happened? 

Stanford has been influenced by the venomous antisemitism of groups calling for boycott, sanctions and divestment from Israel (BDS). (I discuss this trend along with the rise of antisemitism in Europe on the Hannity Show on Fox News. Get the video here.)  Continue reading

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Where is God in Nepal?

The death toll from the earthquake in Nepal continues to climb. Hundreds of thousands of people have lost their homes. The future looks bleak.

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What should we do? Our first responsibility is to help. We can give our support to those who are building hospitals, providing food, offering shelter. Here’s one way to do so.

We may also find ourselves wondering what kind of God allows such a tragedy to happen. In the Bible God splits the Red Sea. God topples the walls of Jericho. God heals the sick and frees the captive. How can such a God not stop a devastating earthquake? Continue reading

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Do Jews Believe in Life After Death?

[guestpost]A great Jewish leader (Rabbi Aaron Lichtenstein) and a great Catholic leader (Cardinal Francis George) died this week. Catholic thinking on life after death is fairly clear and well-known. What do Jews believe? [/guestpost]

Faith begins in mystery. Among the greatest mysteries we face is the afterlife. What happens when we die? Do we see our loved ones? Do we know them? Do they know us?

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The questions are endless. Jewish wisdom offers no definitive answer. We can identify, however, several core teachings.

1. There is an afterlife: Texts from every era in Jewish life identify a world where people go when they die. In the Bible it’s an underworld called Sheol. In the rabbinic tradition it’s known by a number of names, including the yeshiva shel mallah, the school on high. The Hebrew word for skies, shamayim, also came to refer to heaven.

Continue reading

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A Real Prince: A Rabbi Remembers Cardinal George

I met Cardinal George at a Sabbath dinner at the home of a local Jewish leader. It was during the height of the clergy sex scandal, and I did notice he drank a few extra glasses of the Sabbath wine.

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At that dinner I was impressed with the Cardinal’s intellect. He talked about theology, church history, and even Jewish tradition and liturgy. He clearly had a razor sharp mind.

We never had the chance to speak in person again, but my appreciation and affection for him only grew. It grew not because I agreed with his views. It grew because of a legacy we are only now beginning to appreciate.

Cardinal George faced cancer three times. He faced it publicly and humbly. Each time he struggled, he inspired, he instructed. Continue reading

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Where Was God During the Holocaust? 4 Responses

Today is a modern Jewish holiday. It is known as Yom HaShoah, Day of Destruction. It is not a holiday of celebration. It is one of memory. We remember the six million murdered during the Holocaust.

Today–and many other days–we ponder the question: “Where was God during the Holocaust? Why did not God not stop it?”

I do not have a pre-formulated answer. What I can offer, however, are responses. They shape the way I think about this question. They can guide each of us.

1. God asks the same question of us

God did not murder millions of people. God did not start a destructive war. Humans beings did.

Since Cain and Abel, we have known human cruelty. God gave us the gift of free will, and we cannot blame God for the way we use it. The Holocaust challenges humanity more than God. Continue reading