s39/40

The 77% Weekly

The 40/52-weeks-a-year, quick-reading, thought-lingering, spiritual-religious newsletter.

Religion-Outside-The-Box (oldrotb.wpengine.com) is a donation supported not-for-profit empowering adults to find and be with (the) God (of their understanding).

39/40

From the desk of Rabbi Brian.

Merry Whatever…

Last year for our family holiday newsletter photo, I donned a Santa hat.

Some people thought that was odd.

Some people think that they are this, which they believe procludes them from being that. I don’t think that way.

I’m not so skittish.

God
and religion, as best I understand both, are inclusive – not meant to
separate us from each other or our experience of life, but to bring us
together.

(This is important, so let me put it here one more time: God
and religion, as best I understand both, are inclusive – not meant to
separate us from each other or our experience of life, but to bring us
together.)

Consequently, this week, I’m very glad to wish you both a Happy Chanukkah and a Merry Christmas.

With love,

Rabbi Brian

Note: when I visit a church and everyone sings a hymn that mentions Jesus is King, I sing along too. This doesn’t mean that I’m a Jews for Jesus or a messianic Jew. Just that (the) God (of my understanding) is BEYOND (way beyond) playing teams.

The 77% Weekly

The 77% Weekly: The Religion-Outside-The-Box Newsletter helps people find and be with (the) God (of their understanding) 40 out of 52 weeks a year.

Why 77%?
Two reasons:

1) 40/52 = 0.76923. The newsletter is sent every Monday except the last of each month.
2) In school 77% was a passing grade and ROTB wants to remind you that life isn’t graded, it’s pass/fail.

The 77% Archive

Religion-Outside-The-Box is a donation-supported,
non-denominational, internet-based, 501c3-tax exempt religious congregation.

Five Wisdom Biscuits

April 22, 2026

tasty, bite-sized, easily digestible bits of insight ✧✧✧1. Humility, Always.✧✧✧ We need to be humble when we are wrong.AndWe need to be humble when we are right. “When I am wrong, makeme willing to change.When I am right, makeme easy to live with.”—John C. Maxwell ✧✧✧2. LOFTY GOALS✧✧✧ A quote by my BFF Larry Keene: “Our standardsare beyond us for

Annoyance Bingo

April 14, 2026

Annoyance Bingo.Lose your patience. Win big. ✧✧✧ Game play begins Tuesday, April 21, 2026, at 12:00am PT — First Prize: $100 ✧✧✧ The Origin of Annoyance Bingo. For years, I’ve asked mourners at funerals to track the least compassionate things said in an attempt to comfort them — and send me the best (and worst) examples. The idea: when someone

Wastefully

April 9, 2026

Episcopal Bishop John Shelby Spong would answer the question “how shall we express love?” with a single word: “Wastefully.” ✧✧✧ We don’t express love wastefully. A story and then some thinking about why. ✧✧✧ It’s 2006. I’m in NYC to—among other things—celebrate the fifth birthday of my first niece, Maya. I wait outside her school

s39/40

Related

Five Wisdom Biscuits

Annoyance Bingo

Wastefully