Material Things Matter

 The pandemic has taught us a variety of things. While many people claim that it has taught them "what really matters" and the value of spending time with family, I actually think it has shown us just how important material things are. Here's my piece on why they matter in general, and why they are especially important in this collective moment.

The End of Moral Certainty

 For the past few months I've been agonizing about what I see as a doubling down from people on both sides of the political spectrum. People's certainty when it comes to everything has increased, which is troubling to me given that our current social and political climate is anything but conducive to that kind of mindset. If anything, now is the time to question everything, to think outside of our own circles and ideologies. The novelist E.L. Doctorow once wrote that doubt is "the greatest stabilizer." And he's right. Maybe we need a little more doubt and a little less certainty. With all this in mind, I wrote a piece on the end of moral certainty (and how studying midrash gave me that understanding) for the Jewish Journal. You can read it here.

Is Laughter the Key to Surviving a Pandemic?

I can tell you that, no, laughter probably isn't the key to surviving a pandemic. But it's certainly one of the things that will help us get through it without completely and utterly dying inside. I wrote the cover story for a recent issue of The Jewish Journal about why laughter is so important right now.

Really, don't stop laughing. Except when it's time to cry.