rB’s Diary (37/40)

Dearest Beloved,
💙rB

I’m sitting at my computer.

It’s Wednesday morning, and I just finished my bi-weekly planning session with Denise, my project manager.

I’m behind on the newsletter.

At the latest, I try to get articles to Jenn, my editor, by Monday.

It didn’t happen.

As I type right now, I’m hoping for brilliance to strike.

I’m getting more anxious about my performance.

Am I wasting your time?

Then, wham, my perspective shifts. You, beloved, are my champion, not my detractor.

Wow, fear and self-doubt are pernicious.

***

I unwittingly abetted some of the troubles in the Middle East.

Back in 1983, I donated some of my bar mitzvah money to J.N.F. (the Jewish National Fund) to plant five trees in memory of each of my grandfathers.

I was told to be proud of doing this, and I was.

The certificates, today taped to the wall of my workshop, no longer give me pride.

Because a few years ago I had a suspicion, which led me to Google the phrase “JNF Palestinian villages.”

As it turns out, 46 out of the 68 forests planted since 1948 have been part of a greenwashing program—planted deliberately atop ruins of bulldozed and demolished Palestinian roads and villages.

I had no idea.

None.

How repugnant.

***

“Rabbi Brian’s Diary” entries (every other week of The 77% Weekly recently) seem to have become a thing.

Not me teaching a spiritualigious truth through a story.

Just me being me.

Conversational.

As though we are having a chat.

I like it.

***

Book update.

You should be able to order *Rabbi Brian’s Highly Unorthodox Gospel* on 3/15/24.

Well, you *should* be able to order it today.

But reality isn’t always how things should be.

I should floss my teeth at least once a day.

So, what’s the holdup?

* Copyediting

* Securing permission for quotations

* Page layout

* Creating stickers for the sticker chart

* Compiling a list of pre-launch influencers

* Finding (and hiring) a publicist

If you’d like to offer help or expertise, or if you know someone in the acquisitions department at Harper One, please let me know.

***

If I had one wish today, it would be that you feel as loved and supported in your day as I feel by you.

Stuff Gets To Me

March 6, 2026

✧✧✧ As I pack up to leave after my workout, someone asks me, “Hey, Rabbi, how are things going?” I’m not one for small talk. Especially after being called by my title. “Well,” I reply. “I’m sad.” “Why?” “I’m thinking about the girls who went to school in the morning in Minab, Iran—over a hundred of them—killed by a bomb.”

My Letter to Habakkuk

February 26, 2026

✧✧✧ To my dearest pen pal, Habbakuk: First, let me say, no one remembers the prophets who did not deliver on the goods. Your predictions came true. And, 2500+ years later, you are still remembered. Do you remember Lenny, that guy? Kept going around Judea telling people “the goats will lay down in green pastures,” and, then, remember? It started

Me, Rabbi.

February 25, 2026

✧✧✧ I am a rabbi. I have a Masters Degree in Hebrew letters and a Doctorate of Divinity, and I am ordained as a rabbi. I have each credential framed, in my office, just behind where I sit. They’re not individually affixed to the wall—they lean against one another in a stack. I like the

rB’s Diary (37/40)