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Jun 24, 2021Liked by Nellie Bowles

What an inspiring story. Since I lived in Northampton for several years, I wonder if we were in the Valley, as they say, at the same time. If you are musical, learn the trop and to leyn. Very rewarding. I would practice my parsha during faculty meetings. I could learn an aliya in the time it took the provost to issue her monthly report.

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This is quite a story, Tom. Like most men reading this I had a "Yikes!" moment when you breezily passed over your bris, before a more in-depth discussion. I have more questions but for another day and another blog.

What I like in particular here is the sense of how people find their paths in life, with religion being one important aspect of this. I do not think religions are interchangeable, but I do think that deep down they have fundamental grooves in common (ritual, transcendence, being part of something greater, ethical living, etc). They seem to work like languages which can translate easily but a story told in one is not the same in another. The work of these languages are the features I mentioned above (ritual, etc).

So Tom has found his language, his way to express and to live these deeper dimensions of his being. Congratulations to Tom and thank you for sharing your story for the many who still search for home.

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