Unpublished op-eds

The two most impactful events of my youth were my Bar Mitzvah and earning my U.S. Air Force wings. My Bar Mitzvah because it was the first time “I proved to myself” that I could accomplish something I thought was impossible and because of the deep connection it created between me and the generations of Jews who came before me. My Rabbi forced us to debate the meaning of my Torah and Haftorah portions as if we were Talmudic scholars. He looked me in the eyes and told me,