ArcaMax

Oops!

In your column about God’s sense of humor you mentioned the verse in Ecclesiastes that was transformed into the song “Turn, turn, turn.” It was not Bob Dylan, but Pete Seeger who added additional words, wrote the music, and made the original recording, which was covered by the Byrds. I think God has a wacky sense of humor. Thank you...Read more

Q: What theological system says that "God is only 'transcendent' far off and aloof, uncaring? What is the trait that human beings have that leads them to ask big questions like “Who is God?” or “What is man?” or “What is the meaning of life?” Do all these questions belong to some specific field of study? (From M)

A: Thank you, dear ...Read more

My remembrances of my best friend, Father Tom Hartman, have lingered past the actual fifth anniversary of his death on Feb. 16, 2016. I think of him every day and what I am thinking about now is the very best thing I think one can say about a loved one who has died, and that is this, “All the good things he did will never be known.”

I ...Read more

Q: I do hope you answer this, as I count on your counsel and I am struggling with this. I have a friend of long standing who was not in the required categories for the COVID-19 vaccine but nonetheless, took advantage of the early confusion to cut the vaccine line, metaphorically pushing someone out of the lifeboat who is in much greater need. ...Read more

Thank you, dear readers, for your stories about angels who have helped you get through this pandemic by appearing in your life at just the right time. People wonder how I can believe in angels, but I do. The Bible teaches us that God needs to contact us, and angels are God’s post office. They are people bearing a message from God that we are ...Read more

I got a holiday card from Tommy this week.

Father Tom Hartman, my partner and pal, has been dead since Feb. 16. 2016, but the card came last week. It was mailed two days before Christmas this year to the wrong address by the people (also angels) at the Holy Apostles soup kitchen on 296 Ninth Ave, New York, NY 10001 (Yes, you can send them a ...Read more

You know I have been trying recently in all my columns to send to you, dear readers, a simple but deeply profound message: LOOK UP!

Looking up means spending at least as much time in gratitude as you spend in complaining — at least as much time taking in the power of our blessings as we do taking in the pain of our burdens. The advice to look...Read more

Q: I’ve been a huge fan of yours since you and the Monsignor took the good news to the Imus show many years ago. Someone I know posted this on Facebook today, and although I vehemently disagreed with her, I was struggling for an appropriate response. Would you please comment on this? “I know one thing for certain ... God is laughing at ...Read more

Q: I look to you for information, peace in my heart and I just love your sense of humor. I am totally destroyed over the present conditions we're having to live in between the COVID-19 virus, isolation and the hatred in our country because of politics. I know I'm one of probably millions and sometimes I just don't know what to do to stay ...Read more

Q: I have enjoyed reading your column for years and have learned a lot about the different religions in our world. A person I work with, who is Jewish, lost his mother recently. Due to the current pandemic, I had the opportunity to watch his mother's service via Zoom. I was surprised to listen to their version of the 23rd Psalm. But what ...Read more

I asked you, dear readers, to join me in the hunt for truly novel and spiritually impactful New Year’s resolutions. You flooded the inbox of my life. Thank you. Here is a sampling of some of the things some of you will sometimes try to sometimes do…

From S in Branford, Connecticut:

My resolutions are to be kind and to stay positive. I have...Read more

Of all the popular secular rituals that sometimes enrich (Thanksgiving family meals) and sometimes degrade (Halloween vandalism) our public life, my favorite is the custom of making resolutions at the end of the year. I know that most of these resolutions are honored mostly in their abandonment and yet I still think they are a spiritually ...Read more

Hi, Rabbi Gellman, this year the adults in my family have decided, instead of gift to each other, we are donating what we would have spent to a veterans organization that helps homeless veterans with food, housing and provides other assistance as needed. Have a safe and happy 2021 — M

Purchase a subscription to a magazine or newspaper as a ...Read more

One of the oldest traditions that Father Tom Hartman and I created and preserved during the many years we wrote this column together was to write two holiday columns in December. In one, Tommy would tell what he loved about Chanukah and I would tell what I loved about Christmas. With his passing from this world to the world to come, the Chanukah...Read more

Hanukkah this year begins at sundown on Thursday, Dec. 10. I freely admit that I am not a big fan of Hanukkah because the Maccabees it celebrates in their revolt against the Syrian Greeks began the Hasmonean dynasty that was thoroughly corrupt and led to the weakening of the Jewish community and its fatal vulnerability to the Roman conquest of ...Read more

Q: Dear Sir, how will I not get angry at someone who betrays you. Thanks and Regards, -- S in India

A: Dearest S, I am honored to try to answer your eloquently short but spiritually profound question. Plus, I am also happy to answer a question from my only reader in India.

Let us begin by acknowledging the deep pain caused by betrayal. I ...Read more

This was obviously a very sad year and Thanksgiving was obviously a very sad holiday because of travel restrictions, social distancing and forced prohibitions of large gatherings.

One of the consequences of this tsunami of sadness and suffering is a reflexive orgy of complaining and griping, all of it understandable and all of it excusable, but...Read more

Every year before Thanksgiving I offer up my own personal list of little things for which I give thanks. Most of us have a ritual that before we eat, we go around the table and tell of one thing for which we are thankful this year. I began this list years ago when I realized that most of the things we are thankful for are, well to say it simply,...Read more