A Soulful Journey

When Rabbi Mordecai M. Kaplan taught homiletics at the Jewish Theological Seminary, his practice was to explain the portion of the week on a Monday in a sermonic manner. On Wednesday, a senior student would present his version of the same biblical text. Dr. Kaplan was a very demanding and critical instructor, and the students dreaded the ordeal. Once in our class, a student took down verbatim what Dr. Kaplan said on Monday. When it came the student's turn to explain the passage on Wednesday, he repeated Kaplan's Monday interpretation word for word. At the end of the presentation, Dr. Kaplan said, "That's a terrible exposition." 'The student then complained, "But, Prof. Kaplan, that's exactly what you said Monday. And Kaplan replied, "Young man, I have grown since then."   Rabbi Bernard K. Raskas  Heart of Wisdom

If I am not in the world simply to adapt to it but to transform it, I must make use of every possibility there is not only to speak about my utopia, but also to engage in practices consistent with it.  -Paulo Freire

Children in hospitals [newborns] grew two times in weight as fast when touched for times each day. One doctor noted   that the growth pattern in the bones became dwarfed when the child went untouched.   –Bernie Siegel What we all need to grow, mature and succeed is touch.  Even a light touch on the shoulder, a kiss on the cheek, or a friendly hand-shake can make the difference between indifference and connection.