Foreword, Rabbi Lisa J. Grushcow, DPhil
Acknowledgments
Introduction: On Essays, Elephants, and Singularities
Part One: When the World Shuts Down: Wisdom from the Time of COVID
Introduction: The Nightmare of Shutting Down
Black Swans, Black Holes, and Why We Matter
Plagues and Exile, Healing and Home
On a Pandemic High Holy Day High
Religion Has a Light Side Too: Three Surprises in the Making of a Rabbi
Part Two: When Our Lives Shut Down: Wisdom in the Face of Loss
Introduction: Life and Love; Sickness, Death, and Grieving
The State of Grief: Life Across the River
The State of Grief: Angels, Oars, Visas, and a Little Theology
Living Through Grief: How’s Your Faith?
Home Sweet Home: Can We Ever Go Home Again?
Mr. McGarrity
Life After Death: Memories Are Made of More Than You Think
Mr. McGarrity Revisited: Four Years After
Religion Has a Light Side Too: The Passover Numbers Racket—Passover Fun for Adults
Part Three: When We Become World-Weary: Living Through Harrowing Times
Introduction: Headlines Can Be Dangerous to Your Health
Footprints in the Snow
A Cautionary Tale: The Dreyfus Case and Us
A Religious Response to War
Passover Promises to See Us Through Adversity
The Supreme Court, Originalism, and Jewish History
The Newest Totalitarians
MABA: Make America Beautiful Again
H Is for “Heretical”
I Am a Zionist
The Student Protests in Perspective
October 7 Revisited
Rights Versus Responsibilities: Individualism Unbound?
Religion Has a Light Side Too: Let’s Hear It for Jewish Food!
Part Four: The Solution: Religion, Troubled and Troubling or Reframed and Refreshed
Introduction: Religion—The Troubled and Troubling Part
Do I Believe in God?
F for “Freud,” R for “Religion”
Dumas
Sin—Not Original, but Primal
“Holy, Holy, Holy”: Announcing God, Announcing Us
Tradition and the Rule of Creepy, Crawly Things
Value-Added
The Jewish Gold Standard
The Cat Is Not on the Mat
A Symphonic Meditation on Meaning, Complete in Four Movements
Religion, Judaism, God, and Prayer: Rethinking What They Are
Religion Has a Light Side Too: A Horse Named Hebrew
Part Five: Synagogues (and Churches): Pastors, Prophets, and Priests
Introduction: A Wholesaler Goes Retail
Institutions and Their Discontents: Why We Need Synagogues
A View Through the Synagogue Windows
Protest, Change, and What Organized Religion Can Do
Imagine That!
Seriously Speaking
True East
Chicken Little and Our Rabbi Problem
My Big Mistake
Afterword: The Genealogy of More
Notes
About the Author
