I, like so many others, learned about the extraordinary life cycle of an emperor penguin by watching the documentary “The March of the Penguins.” It is narrated by the iconic Morgan Freeman, and his deep and calming voice accompanies us on the incredible journey. As the title suggests, the film documents the march of these penguins inland to breeding grounds. The largest recorded colony is known as the Halley Bay colony. Scientists have observed as much as 23,000 pairs, or 46,000 individual penguins gathering at this site.

When you were a child, how were you taught to be in your feelings? Were you rushed through experiences of anger or sadness to make you arrive at a more "pleasant" emotional state? In this message, Mark invites us to ponder the expectations we have of others, especially when it comes to their emotional responses. As we listen to the voices of BIPOC, how are we creating expectations that the only way we can be reached is if they tamper down their anger?

…when a pupil or student would be accepted by a particular Rabbi it was said that the pupil would take the “rabbi’s yoke upon him.” Taking on a Rabbi’s yoke would mean a dramatic life shift, with the pupil leaving his home, his family, and way of life to be fully yoked with that particular Rabbi.

Likely, many of us have wrestled with this text. The source of that wrestling often is, “What kind of God would do this? Would put a person through this kind of test? What kind of jealous, power-hungry God would require a father to show his loyalty by telling him to sacrifice his only child?”