A New Year's Resolution -- And a Link to Challenge us All

I begin by wishing everyone a Happy 2011! As I pointed out in my remarks to my congregation on New Year's Eve -- a sermon given with no notes, hence its absence from these pages -- there is assuredly no more arbitrary celebration in the human history of time than making Midnight on January 1st into New Years! Nonetheless, it IS a new year, and with that observance goes a strong tradition of making resolutions -- even if this was likely transferred from the self-inventorying that our Jewish New Year -- Rosh Hashanah -- obligates us to undertake.

My own resolution, acted on here today, is to catch up and keep current in the Weis Man corner of the blog-o-sphere. Between my injury, our anniversary celebration, the Bar Mitzvah, and the follow-up to those events, it was not easy -- but I make excuses. I invite you to catch up, and to stay tuned. There is much more to come in 2011!

And I start, besides by filling in all that was missing, as I have now done, with this link to an incredibly challenging and powerful blog by Rabbi Shmuley Boteach. One that challenged me when I read it, and one which I hope will challenge ALL of us. And, in this case, one which I believe deserves an honest and open discussion.

And so, even as I list the link below, I hope that my readers (do I still have any readers) will take the couple of minutes to read Rabbi Boteach's column, and then respond to it here. For me personally, this will be a far more valuable discussion, as it will allow me to see how those who have already allowed me to be an influence in their lives feel on the issue of the role of the Rabbi today.

So, here is the link -- enjoy:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rabbi-shmuley-boteach/the-end-of-the-rabbi-as-m_b_801710.html

As always, I am never sure whether this is being read as a link or not. If you cannot click on the address above and get directly to the article, please cut it and paste it into your browser.