The Personal Side

What I Learned In My 1st Year:

Working For Uncle Wally

What I Learned In My 1st Year: Working For Uncle Wally.

This article is part of a continuing series featuring attorneys’ true-life tales from the earliest days of their legal careers.

My first summer job as a law student in 1981 was with my uncle Wally…. Read More >>

The "Yom Kippur Controversy"

and RBG's "Sandy Koufax" Moment

In 2003, Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, fell on October 6. That year, October 6 was also the first Monday in October. By federal law, the U.S. Supreme Court…. Read More >>

Parshat Mikeitz

On Writing my Book

Why and How I wrote The Anochi Project.
As you all know by now, I have written a new book on the use of the word Anochi in the Torah. In today’s talk, I would like to explain why I wrote the book, how I wrote the book, and some thoughts based on this week’s Parsha.
To start – why did I write this book?Read More >>

Parshat Masey

My Life Travels

In Parshat Masey, we read a long list of places through which B’nai Yisrael traveled as they wandered in the desert. It reads as a litany of place after place and begs the question of what Hashem is teaching us by giving this list: “These are the journeys of B’nai Yisrael … They journeyed from Succoth and encamped in Etham, on the edge of the wilderness. They journeyed from Etham and turned back to Pi Hachiroth, which is before Baal Zephon, and they encamped before Migdol, etc., etc.”
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Maryland Graduation Speech

Finding Your Own Identity

Rabbi Israel, Rabbi Backman, faculty and administrators, families, friends, guests, and, of course, members of the 2017 graduating class here at the University of Maryland – Congratulations on having reached this wonderful milestone. The story is told of a college graduate who, upon graduation, had something of an identity crisis. He travelled to India and climbed a well-known mountain to speak to G-d. Every day, he would call out from the mountaintop “Who am I?” Every day, he would hear no response. Read More >>

Life is a Business

In 1972, my father originally wrote this essay about his father-in-law, my grandfather. This essay says a great deal about both my father and my grandfather and I am sharing it with some minor edits for historical accuracy and context. These minor edits do not diminish the valuable lessons for us all.
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