Ezra Butler (Page 6)

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My Library

Six weeks ago, I signed a two year lease on a new apartment in Kips Bay, on the East Side of Manhattan. As I explored the junior 2 bedroom for the first time, I walked down the hallway into the back room. It was small and plain, without much external

Sitting Shiva for Squirrel Hill

I never know what to say in a shiva house. I don’t feel like I have the right to say something, especially when someone else may have known the person better. So I show up and listen. I may share an anecdote I remember about the person but I

The White Elephant in My Room

A decade ago, I wrote the following piece for Jewneric, a blog that no longer exists. In the intervening years, it has remained mostly true, with a few glaring exceptions. There have been a few romantic partners who have rejected me due to my lack of fluency, there have been

Genesis 21: Celebrating Diversity Despite Difference

What Abraham might have said to family and friends from near and far

NY Year 2 Update.

A year ago, I wrote an update recounting my first year back in New York. It had been a difficult year to give any particulars about, because quite honestly, not much of anything felt like an accomplishment. It was a very personal year. It was a year of reconnecting with

How to Pray Like You’re On Broadway

The Yom Kippur Musical Theatre Mixtape

Libraries, Structured Randomness and the Creative Process

Creativity occurs at the intersection of different ideas. It’s the art of looking at something new and applying its essence to something old. Randomness, therefore, assists greatly in the creative process. It’s hard to be extremely creative while sitting in a cubicle, staring at the same off-white wall

NY Year 1 Update.

Exactly a year ago today, I landed in New York. It was supposed to be a year yesterday, but I had actually missed my flight due to awful planning on my part and normally horrendous Los Angeles traffic. I ended up taking the red-eye and landing early on a Friday

Yaniv Rokah

“He who saves one life saves the entire world.” – Sanhedrin 4:5, as quoted at the very end of the credits of QUEEN MIMI Before I left Los Angeles, I got into a fight during brunch in a vegan restaurant. It may have been more of a differing of opinions,

My Five Year Plan

“Where do you see yourself in 5 years?” my interlocutor innocuously asked over his regular milk latte at FIKA on West 58th street. I stammered with a reply, not because of my stutter, but due to having no good response. It took me a few pots of tea and an