Marilyn Saltzman
The generosity of strangers
Jewish tradition talks about two types of generosity, according to Alan Morinis in Everyday Holiness. One is tzedakah, planned and/or...
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Marilyn Saltzman
May 19, 20213 min
Wholeness and hibernation
Springtime at 8700 feet. Saturday – short sleeves, sandals and sunscreen. Sunday (aka Mother’s Day) – snow boots, sleds and shovels. And...
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Marilyn Saltzman
Apr 21, 20211 min
Sympathy cards and thank you notes
I ran out of sympathy cards. Again. I buy them in boxes, Like thank you notes. And yet they disappear ever more quickly. Sympathy cards...
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Marilyn Saltzman
Mar 23, 20211 min
Not again!
Not again! I can’t write about it. I can’t write about anything else. Surely can’t polish my unfinished blog about generosity. Not today....
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Marilyn Saltzman
Mar 8, 20214 min
Memories of travels with Malcolm
Over six decades ago, my husband, Irv, made friends with a boy named Malcolm in third grade at PS 235 in Brooklyn, NY. About ten years...
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Marilyn Saltzman
Feb 8, 20213 min
Candle power
Candles have always been an important part of my Jewish cultural tradition – the Sabbath candles lit by my mother every Friday night; the...
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Marilyn Saltzman
Jan 9, 20212 min
Words, consequences and responsibility
“The words of a president matter.... At their best, the words of a president can inspire. At their worst, they can incite.” Joe Biden,...
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Marilyn Saltzman
Dec 18, 20203 min
Rituals of Light and Memory
Last night was the final evening of Chanukah 2020, the Jewish festival of lights. I love the ritual of lighting the candles, an...
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Marilyn Saltzman
Nov 23, 20203 min
Creating New Rituals with Zerizut
2020 has been a year of mourning the loss of old rituals while creating new ones with zerizut (enthusiasm). * The first ritual casualty...
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Marilyn Saltzman
Nov 3, 20201 min
Boarded windows, broken pledges…and hope
Stately Press Club, boarded windows, Downtown storefronts cloaked in plywood, The people’s house, choked in fencing. Foreign hackers,...
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Marilyn Saltzman
Oct 11, 20203 min
Rediscovering gratitude for nature’s gifts
Growing up in Brooklyn, I had few opportunities to experience nature. Yes, we had some lovely roses and a favorite snowball bush in our...
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Marilyn Saltzman
Sep 21, 20203 min
A thank you note to the Notorious RBG
Dear Justice Ginsburg, As a student of Mussar, Jewish ethics, I looked to you as a shining example of how to practice the middot, soul...
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Marilyn Saltzman
Sep 17, 20202 min
M&Ms in the time of COVID
When I worked for Jeffco Schools, our assistant Jean kept a decorative jar, stocked daily with M&Ms for all to share, on her desk....
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Marilyn Saltzman
Sep 3, 20203 min
Learning by teaching
My grandchildren, Selam, a sixth grader, and Dian, a fifth grader, are enrolled in an online academy this fall. I volunteered to be their...
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Marilyn Saltzman
Aug 13, 20205 min
Of loss and love - spoken and unspoken
I’ve been thinking a lot about final goodbyes lately. One of the challenges of aging is that I find myself at more memorial services...
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Marilyn Saltzman
Jul 21, 20203 min
Overcoming Fear, Experiencing Adventure
I am not, by nature, an adventurous person. I grew up with the constant warning of “Be careful, you’ll hurt yourself.” Yet a couple of...
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Marilyn Saltzman
Jun 30, 20202 min
Light a candle, not a fuse
I attended a webinar with one of my favorite Mussar teachers, Alan Morinis, last weekend. The subject was savlanut, patience. It’s a soul...
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Marilyn Saltzman
Jun 14, 20203 min
Humility, honor and truth in the name of justice
June 8, 2020 – My granddaughter Selam’s eleventh birthday and her first rally. I told her the night before that I was going to attend the...
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Marilyn Saltzman
May 19, 20202 min
Of Masks and Wo/men
On the Jewish holiday of Purim, we dress up in masks and costumes, eat, drink and celebrate our survival. Ironically, one of the last...
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Marilyn Saltzman
May 3, 20202 min
Love at First Note
"Camp Jancbrook lives on forever, Does not perish with the frost But remains within our memory Fondest beauty never lost.” (Sung to “Ode...
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