Yes, after six months absence from this spot, I am back. If I needed an acronym to explain my “radio silence” (does anyone even know what that means any more?) it would not be AWOL (I am retired and don’t need any L) or MIA (I have, thank God, not been in a combat zone), but simply AWAB, “Away Writing a Book” – a collection of my Open Letters no less!
Yes, I have collected the best of my 80+ Open Letters to you, organized them topically, written contextualizing introductions to them all, and added several new Letters as well, to make a book entitled Open Letters: On Religion and the Human Condition. The CCAR is publishing it and expects it to be available sometime in the late Fall. Please watch for it.
And watch this space too. I will soon return with New Letters here as well.
Rabbi Lawrence A. Hoffman, Ph.D. 
Looking forward to seeing the book. Yasher Koach, Rabbaynu! And welcome back!
Neal
amazing!! I look forward to getting a copy and reading the book!
HI Larry,
I am so glad to hear from you. I thought either you were ill or you decided to stop sending me your letters. I look forward to reading your book – just want to have an autographed copy. Using your collection is a good away to print a new book.
My family is doing well. Josh lives in NYC as does my granddaughter who is 23. My grandson, 21, is in his last year of college and spends a year abroad in Spain next month. Eric lives in Boston. Sadly, neither of my sons have married. Josh had many chances; don’t know what happened. My daughter and hubby live in Ohio.
Thanks to technology, we use our apple computers to see each other through FaceTime each Sunday. Sometimes other family members join us. I will be attending a wedding in August for my great-niece, my late brother’s daughter’s daughter. I have seen her live only once when she was about 3. But, I have seen her on FaceTime.
This trip will be my last plane trip. At 89, I no longer want to pack clothes and travel.
I live in Shell Point which offers everything – lecture series, modern gyms, restaurants, staffed medical building, more than 10 indoor and outdoor sports, working trails, gym classes which I go to 3x/ week, independent living (which I am) and assisted living, long-time care and nurse visits for those who need it. There is even a bus to take people around our campus for those who don’t drive or don’t want to.. and a shopping bus residents can use to go to supermarkets. I volunteer at their thrift store which supports 20 charities. It is a Christian community, but all faiths are welcome here and I have never felt any discrimination. Some years ago, I ran the defunct Shalom Club here on campus.
I still belong to the Community Free Synagogue and attend Services every Friday evening….we have a potluck where we all bring non-dairy dishes before our Service starts. Most of the year, we use the Unity Church where we are very welcome. We have met with church people many times. Rabbi Diamod’s wife is a member of Unity Church. For the summer, we meet at the Rabbi’s home.
I like our members. Joel used to say he goes to Services for community and I agree. We are a small group and I know everyone. Nothing will ever compare to our Chavurah – the best years of my life. I have saved some of our old Services.
I hope your children are doing well – I can’t even guess how old they are now. The years go by too fast!
Many hugs,
Eve
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