For me, the view through glass block symbolizes the way my sense of the world has become distorted by these past two years of living through a pandemic. So much of what I thought about the world and my relation to it has been blurred, even distorted. Everything has changed, from getting together with people…

I love walking the streets of New York City. Camera in hand. The tension between the old and new, the urban and the chic. Especially here, at an upscale foodcourt in the heart of the Meat Packing District, one thing always stands out: Style. You can’t help but admire how effortlessly this young woman dons…

Among Judaism’s most ancient traditions is mikveh—the ritual bath. Contrary to popular misconception, ritual immersion is not about “cleansing” oneself from impurity. Rather, it is a ritual of transition, a shifting from one state of being to another. Such is our predicament today, as we move from the sheltered isolation of living in fear to…

It was a lovely day on the Jersey Shore. Not a cloud in the sky. The temperatures were pushing 60. And the people came out to walk the boardwalk in Asbury Park. All ages. Some bore the remnants of winter clothing. Some just wore t-shirts. Most still were masked, even as the ocean breezes emboldened a…

Our garage has taken on a new role during this winter of our discontent. We still use it for storing our car. But with the pandemic forcing us to maintain social distance in an area with fresh air circulation, the garage—protected from the wind and the elements—is as good a place as any to visit.…

There are some who ignore the pandemic, as if it’s not really real. And there are those who have gone into hiding, waiting to come outside and play again. But in Brooklyn, the pandemic is less an obstacle than an impediment. Life still goes on. Restaurants have usurped parking spots. Masks are ubiquitous with as…

In the movie The Wedding Date, an otherwise mediocre and utterly predictable rom-com, the male lead says to his date, who is obsessing over what clothes she should wear to a party, “Let me teach you a trick—if you look people in the eye, they won’t notice what you’re wearing.” The fact that it’s a…

We’ve all had to learn to adapt. Wearing masks. Maintaining social distance. Washing our hands more than we’d like. It’s a new normal. Yet perhaps those who’ve felt it most are religious institutions. Worship—especially in Western faith traditions—tends to be communal. But in the age of Covid-19, churches and mosques and synagogues have learned to…