Encouragement

One of the unanticipated purposes of this column over the past several decades has been to point out with love and pride ways that our belief in God and God’s love for us sneaks into our world in unappreciated and often unacknowledged…

Q: Your columns on childhood prayers are a delight and at times downright poignant, and I enjoy them very much. I wish I could offer my own but by the time I came along (no. 5), my parents, God rest their souls, were probably praying…

So many beautiful bedtime prayers are piling up in my inbox. Thank you, dear readers.Here is a sweet prayer from C that does not touch the problem of frightening kids with the phrase, “And if I die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul…

Q: Dear Rabbi Gellman, I’m writing because I know you’ve lost your beloved dog in the past and I recently put my dog down and once again am heartbroken. You wrote a column about losing your dog that I wanted to keep, however, the…

I have asked you, dear readers, to share with me the bedtime prayers taught to you by your parents and again you have filled my inbox with joy, piety and love.Bedtime prayers are deeply important because they keep God in our daily…

Q: Being a religious spiritualist and studying many types of religions, how does one know what is REAL and what is not? I grew up Lutheran and heard how we were THE religion, when we had a Catholic Church right across the street!I…

Q: Dear Rabbi Gellman, I have been a faithful fan since first reading your and Monsignor Tom Hartman’s newspaper column and watching "The God Squad" on cable television. I’m pleased to respond to your request regarding prayers that were…

MINNEAPOLIS —  LeBron James walked up to an exhausted Wenyen Gabriel as he exited the game with 7 minutes and 41 seconds left and tapped the Lakers backup center in the chest while offering instructions and some more encouragement.Gabriel…

I met my best friend, Monsignor Tom Hartman (Tommy to me), at this time of the year in 1987. Our friend Chuck Dolan asked us to appear together on a local cable news program to explain the similarities and differences between Passover and…

Q: Why is God always referred to as "He", seemingly in all religions and spiritual discussion, rather than the much more appropriate "it"? Thank you. – (From J in Halifax, Pa.)A: Thanks, dear J, for your gender-sensitive question about a…