When someone in the USA commits a “Federal offense,” and are convicted of the crime, they are sentenced according to a standard set of Federal Sentencing Guidelines. The guidelines, which are available online, are very complicated. Everything is a “points” system, where there are so many points given for the basic offence the person...
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At 7:00am California time on September 11, 2001, I was at home in Los Angeles, still in bed, when the phone rang. It was my mother, calling from Denver: "turn on your television, something terrible is happening in New York" were all the words she could choke out. Confused, we got up, turned on...
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Today is Rosh Chodesh Elul, the first day of the Hebrew month of Elul. Which means Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year and Day of Judgment, is exactly one month away. We start blowing the shofar at morning services -- our "spiritual wake-up call," urging us to wake up, pay attention, reflect. Rabbi Alan...
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Today is "Tzom Gedaliah," the fast of Gedaliah. Who was Gedaliah, and why should we fast for him? Gedaliah was the Jewish governor of Israel in the sixth century BCE, the period immediately following Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon's conquering of Israel (and the destruction of the Temple the first time). Jewish zealots, encouraged by the...
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Rosh Hashanah starts tomorrow night. And I'm not ready. I'm not talking about cooking -- I won't get anywhere near a stove before the holiday starts, as I'm currently in the States on business and don't get back until hours before Rosh Hashanah starts. I'm talking about my soul. Elul is the time for...
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Elul thoughts: "No Regrets" was almost a motto for my generation coming of age in the late 60s and early 70s. Probably because we saw too many "lives of quiet desperation" around us, housewives who wanted to be fashion designers, and clerks who wanted to be artists. It's a great hubris: the only way to...
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