77% Weekly

December 2024 Portland, Oregon My family is out and I’m putting away items that have accumulated in the dish drainer. I’m on the phone with Larry, my best friend. If you don’t know about my relationship with Larry, he’s an 87-year-old retired minister and sociology professor and my role model in learning to be kind. […]

On New Year’s Day, David D. Sicher died, becoming what one in Judaism euphemistically refers to as ‘of blessed memory.‘ As Jewish tradition emphasizes a prompt burial (and he and I were close), I flew from Portland the next day and officiated the service on Friday. What follows is a description of the setting and

Hello. I’m Rabbi Brian. This is a new year, and this is the new, first 2025 issue of The 77% Weekly Newsletter. History!!!Where did the name come from? Well, every Monday, except the last Monday of the month, I send you a spiritualigious article. The ratio of messages I send per year (40) to the

  To play you’ll need: a person’s name an annoying thing that person does an idiom like “bang your head against a wall.” — _____ (person’s name) _____ is / has been / will be (pick one or more) annoying until I stop being annoyed by their _____ (annoying thing that person does) _____ . I also can choose

  Jerusalem, 1993 Rabbi Ben Hollander stands at the front of the classroom in a wardrobe from the 1970s. You can tell, based on a person’s wardrobe, when they emigrated to Israel. This 1958 graduate of the seminary is tasked with teaching us first-year rabbinical students—to be ordained in 1998—Biblical Commentary  Our Bibles are open

“Today I bent the truth to be kind, and I have no regret, for I am far surer of what is kind than I am of what is true.” ― Robert Brault — “Annie,” I say, pointing upward to indicate I will be referencing the soundtrack of Come From Away we’re listening to. I steal

Since the election, I’ve been having a hard time. (You might be having a hard time too.)   Please see me. I am disappointed, exhausted, and scared.   Please don’t try to cheer or assure me.   If you are not comfortable with my pain and my fear, please politely take your leave.   I’m

We don’t know how things are going to go. And it’s terrifying. Funny thing to keep in mind: the terrifying things of the past never feel as scary as the terror we face now in the present. Let me explain. — With any terrible thing that happened in the past, when it was happening, we

Please set an alarm for 8:30pm. When it goes off, answer the following: Was it a good enough day? (y/n) The answer might be no. The answer might be yes. But what’s important is that there is only one person qualified to answer it—you. You are the only person who can determine if today has

Despite the possibility of even our own selves not believing it, we are enough. We are enough. Despite the possibility of even you not believing it, you are enough. You are enough, just as you are. Despite the possibility of even me not believing it, I am enough. I am enough. I’m not saying that