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THE ONE & ONLY
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ORDINARY THINGS
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Together, the essays represent a
journey across time.
A proud Reform Jew, he
describes himself as an
unapologetic 'spirit of the law
trumps the letter of the law
sort of guy." He places himself
on the traditional side of
Reform, and in "Dining with
God," he talks about his path
to keeping kosher, "the oppor-
tunity to express something
holy in how and what we eat."
In a few pieces, he takes
strong stands, as in "Why Jews
Should Not Celebrate
Christmas," encouraging the
development of a strong posi-
Rabbi Steven Z Leder: "The only things that remain
tive Jewish identity.
constant in my life, in anyone's li e, are those sacred
He also encourages readers to connections of family and frierdships that survive
reconcile their differences with
year after year, generation after generation."
estranged family members and
friends, and in "Unfinished
tual exercise. It causes you to pay
Business" tells the story through letters
attention, to focus, to distill." Some
of reconnecting to a grandfather he
of these essays began as columns for
hadn't spoken to in more than 30
the Jewish Journal of Los Angeles,
years — not an easy story for him to
where he is a contributor, and were
tell. "But the rabbi's job is not only to
recast for the book.
teach — it is also to set an example."
He has been writing since he was a
For Rabbi Leder, "writing is a spiri-
child and recalls "inflicting" his poet-
CC
of West Bloomfield
were wishes
to our customers
or the very best
in health and
prosperity in
the new read
• 0'- tieti4 ;t:
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• (LcA.-3
An Excerpt
The meaning of life — no one
can tell us where to search; no road
map points the way. Still, to be
human is to wonder about our pur-
pose on earth. Every Rosh HaShana
Jews ask, "Did we manage to lift our-
selves above our own petty concerns?
Did we rise above the mundane and
find spiritual fulfillment? Did we lead
a meaningful life?" We call these
questions cheshbone hanefesh, the
scrutiny of our soul.
Since I use a Jewish pocket calen-
dar every year, just before Rosh
HaShana I go through my own ritual
of cheshbone hanefesh in a most
graphic way. Before I discard the last
year's calendar, I transfer all of the
important dates I want to remember
to the new year's calendar. I flip
through page after page, week after
week, month after month. The amaz-
ing thing is that I transfer so little of
last year's information to the new
year ahead. The birthdays get trans-
ferred year to year, the anniversaries,
the yahrtzeits, the holidays. But the
rest — the appointments, meetings,
dinners, reminders and notes — the
tangle of activity with which I busied
myself for an entire year, is simply
tossed in the trash.
The only things that remain con-
stant in my life, in anyone's life, are
those sacred connections of family and
friendships that survive year after year,
generation after generation. It is a sim-
ple truth each of us knows. On days
like Rosh HaShana, the importance of
family, friends, kindness and love
seems perfectly clear. The problem is
that during the rest of the year we drift
away from what really matters. We for-
get that every day is ours to fill ... in
our calendars and in our lives.