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Archive: Erica Brown
Remember to give thanks
Write someone a thank-you note for an 'old' act of kindness that made you who you are today.
By Erica Brown | November 24, 2009; 01:21 PM ET | Comments (0)
Finding wisdom in the questions
If wisdom is so seminal to meaningful living then why don't we spend more time as adults pursuing it?
By Erica Brown | November 19, 2009; 12:45 PM ET | Comments (0)
What is Wisdom?
If wisdom is so seminal to meaningful living then why don't we spend more time as adults pursuing it?
By Erica Brown | November 11, 2009; 05:36 PM ET | Comments (1)
Jewish anger management
Nahmanides recommends that when we're angry, we use a gentle and calm voice that reflects fear and awe, as if we are speaking to someone we highly respect. Not only are we then placing ourselves as equals to those who give us displeasure, we are humbling ourselves before others. Self-control expresses itself powerfully in our voice.
By Erica Brown | November 6, 2009; 12:37 PM ET | Comments (1)
The Best Host
We are privileged to live at a time of great abundance, no matter what economic forecasts tell us. That abundance is much more psychological than material. Be abundant in your generosity.
By Erica Brown | October 29, 2009; 02:15 PM ET | Comments (0)
The Jewish Writer?
Today, too often, we are guilty of trying too hard to reduce writers and others into easy categories. Something profound can be lost when we compromise identity in this way.
By Erica Brown | October 22, 2009; 11:37 AM ET | Comments (0)
A river runs through it
This Shabbat we reopen the Torah and begin reading Genesis anew.
By Erica Brown | October 16, 2009; 03:05 PM ET | Comments (0)
Go and Study
Not armed with extensive knowledge of Judaism's history, culture and ritual, many Jews today can be neither functional nor competent within their faith. How many of us read the Torah and quake from the voice of God?
By Erica Brown | October 8, 2009; 11:43 AM ET | Comments (0)
Material and Spiritual Joy
Without knowing the intense joy and economic relief of the harvest, it is difficult to understand the abiding happiness delivered each Sukkot in the ancient world. We are detached from the world of farms and fields; never do we experience that distance from a Jewish perspective more than on Sukkot.
By Erica Brown | October 2, 2009; 05:50 PM ET | Comments (7)
Repent It Forward
For us to feel the impact of Yom Kippur deeply, we have to allow ourselves the full range of emotions: gratitude, sadness, loss, remorse, guilt, joy, relief. We don't have to teach ourselves to cry. We just have to give ourselves permission.
By Erica Brown | September 23, 2009; 07:22 PM ET | Comments (11)
Bored in Worship? No Wonder
Escaping routine, monotony and boredom in religion requires remarkable personal effort. It requires a zest for life and a passion to squeeze out meaning from every moment.
By Erica Brown | September 21, 2009; 05:36 PM ET | Comments (46)
Fashion and Compassion
A fashionable New Year? Remember, God is clothed in charity.
By Erica Brown | September 17, 2009; 08:40 AM ET | Comments (1)
A Good Word
Don't force somoene into self-praise. Remember: a compliment is emotional oxygen for the soul.
By Erica Brown | September 11, 2009; 05:42 PM ET | Comments (5)
The World Within Each of Us
According to Rabbi Yose, every place in the created universe becomes my personal teacher. What better message confronts us as we approach Rosh Hashana, the birthday of the world?
By Erica Brown | September 9, 2009; 01:12 PM ET | Comments (0)
A Global God
The newspaper isn't a prayerbook, but it does offer an up-to-the-minute outlet on what we need to do to make a difference.
By Erica Brown | August 27, 2009; 10:14 AM ET | Comments (5)
Changing Our Ways
Today's small transgression can turn into tomorrow's front page news. It happens to the best of us. Without vigilance and a firm set of principles, it's all too easy to be carried down a path of shame.
By Erica Brown | July 30, 2009; 09:30 AM ET | Comments (0)
Anxious? Talk About It
Do you cope better with anxiety when you banish it or when you talk it over?
By Erica Brown | July 23, 2009; 08:04 AM ET | Comments (1)
A Text of One's Own
The issue is not if religious texts of old carry weight but whether or not we use religion as a thinly-veiled cover for misogyny, just as it's used today to support violence.
By Erica Brown | July 22, 2009; 08:51 AM ET | Comments (2)
Grace after Meals
The way we put food on the table should reflect the majesty of the human condition. Our work should be dignified.
By Erica Brown | July 17, 2009; 04:37 PM ET | Comments (0)
Breaching the Wall
Perhaps it is in God's interest to care for us if we have the self-worth to care for ourselves.
By Erica Brown | July 9, 2009; 10:19 AM ET | Comments (1)
Let Freedom Ring
July 4 should be more than barbeques and lazy days by the pool. For Jews it marks our independence, too.
By Erica Brown | July 3, 2009; 03:37 PM ET | Comments (1)
Random Kindness
Random acts of disaster must spur us to do random acts of redemption, small deeds of kindness that help us lift up the heavens when the tracks beneath us fail to carry us on our way.
By Erica Brown | June 25, 2009; 12:36 PM ET | Comments (0)
Hatred Stings
It is unjust and ironic and perhaps the ultimate denial of the Holocaust to shoot at something that history cannot and will not erase.
By Erica Brown | June 11, 2009; 01:40 PM ET | Comments (1)
Now or Later
The moment we put a price tag on intangible acts, we reduce them and minimize their significance.
By Erica Brown | June 8, 2009; 10:47 AM ET | Comments (0)
Shavuot: Better to Give than Receive
For Jews, Shavuot may represent the time of the giving the Torah but the time in which it is received takes far longer than a day. It takes a lifetime.
By Erica Brown | May 29, 2009; 08:00 AM ET | Comments (2)
