A friend of more than fifty years gave me an old clock. The clock is 130 years old. It sits in my study like an altar to time, What changes and what does not. The wave that washes up on the shore and returns to the sea whence it came. Time advances and recedes. While it gets always later, it leaves something on the shore of memory that never washes away. When it leaves us and reverts back to the great sea of time, we know the wave will return And find us the same and differe

It was my birthday a few weeks ago, and the best birthday I have ever had. Why? I was surprised by how many kind messages I received, and I realized the vast wealth I have in friends. I had surprise visits from my family, who traveled a goodly distance to be there. Had a birthday party with a 5-year-old and am about to go to a birthday party for a 2-year old, which is perfect for a 70-year-old like me. I read something by a Turkish writer that said, “As one grows old, the

If your flame starts to flicker and dim, 'Take some of my fire, and a miracle will happen. We will both burn brighter and cast so much light That others will find their way.

There is the Hebrew word, tzedakah , which is often translated as “charity” or almsgiving, But it ultimately means “justice.” So. think justice flavored with generosity. And there is Chesed , which simply means “kindness.” Take Chesed and Tzedakah together and you have justice and kindness, flavored with generosity. Imagine being at the corner of Chesed and Tzedakah . and join me there. Now which comes first? If you start with chesed, tzedakah follows close behind. And it