Bruce Feiler

It’s official! I’m not just peppy or hopeful. I’m “peppy, hopeful, … and laced with humor!” I’m also “ever game and ever entertaining.” And I’m the author of a brand-new book that’s “an inspiring and thought-provoking look at how ceremony helps us thrive.” I’m overjoyed to share the first review of A TIME TO GATHER, a starred review from Kirkus: “How rituals old and new can ease life’s transitions. The peppy, hopeful latest by journalist Feiler (The Search, 2023) finds the journalist hopscotching around the globe in search of both ancient rituals and newly created ones designed to help people weather changes, including birth, coming of age, marriage, and death. Among the ancient ones are the complicated, two-decade-long negotiation of how much a groom’s family should pay the bride’s in South Africa, a tooth-grinding ceremony in Bali, and a placental burial ceremony on Easter Island. Among the more recently created ones are Taylor Swift-themed divorce parties, gatherings to honor pregnancy loss, and ceremonies connecting parents with the children they have given up for adoption. Ever game and ever entertaining, Feiler throws himself into experiences, including a sauna/cold plunge in Denmark that left him “blue and rueful”; an encounter with a shaman in Chile; and a ritual bath (mikveh) in Newton, Massachusetts. His accounts are detailed and respectful, though occasionally laced with humor: His evocation of a day spent running from one Las Vegas wedding to the next and another where he attended three Irish wakes are surprisingly giddy. But that humor, never mean-spirited, is more often directed to himself than his subjects. Feiler convincingly makes the case that “rituals are the single most effective tool in holding any community together” and that “every life ritual is invented, reinvented, improvised, plagiarized, forged in crisis, modified in real time.” Finally coming out in favor of “DIY, micro, third-space rituals,” rather than more formal, institutional ones, he gently encourages readers to join with others in creating rituals that will serve to get them through hard times. An inspiring and thought-provoking look at how ceremony helps us thrive.” You can join the celebration by preordering your copy today! 🙏💙📚

this is like watching the mona lisa being painted

Incredible ritual!

@dansenor @AmitSegal Happy Holiday to all the Senors, Singers, and Browns. 💙 🤍

From @AmitSegal newsletter in advance of tonight’s Seder…. ### Part of the beauty of Passover is that in its wealth of stories, parables, and traditions, it offers powerful lessons for every new generation. There is one section of tonight’s liturgy in particular that feels especially fitting in this moment: the strange and repetitive poem “Dayenu.” Apart from being the musical low point of the night, the text retells the story of the Exodus, but at every pivotal moment it returns to the refrain, declaring that if God had stopped there, it would have been enough. “If He had taken us through the sea on dry land, and had not drowned our oppressors in it—Dayenu, it would have sufficed us! If He had drowned our oppressors in it, and had not supplied our needs in the desert for forty years—Dayenu, it would have sufficed us! ..If He had given us the Torah, and had not brought us into the land of Israel—Dayenu, it would have sufficed us!” The absurdity is that at no point was that true. Had God not drowned their oppressors in the sea, they would have returned to slavery. Had He not provided for them in the desert, they would have starved. Had He given them the Torah but not brought them into the land of Israel, they would have wandered the desert. Over the past two and a half years, Israel has had several moments—either in appreciation or exhaustion—when we have wanted to say “Dayenu.” Had we crippled Hamas and not dealt with Hezbollah—Dayenu. Had we dealt with Hezbollah but not launched Rising Lion—Dayenu. Had we launched Rising Lion but not followed up with Roaring Lion—Dayenu. The Seder warns us that “in every generation, they rise to destroy us,” but this generation has felt especially crowded. Yet a Jew standing at the far side of the Sea of Reeds, watching their oppressors drown, may justifiably say Dayenu, not knowing how much further they still had to go. Israel today may want to say “Dayenu,” and indeed there is much to be thankful for, but there is still much that needs to be done. To paraphrase the final line of the night: Next year in a peaceful Jerusalem.

Jimmy Buffett once sang, "It's 5 O'clock Somewhere." These days, between Valentine's Day and Memorial Day, it's Spring Break somewhere.

The best explanation for why #Passover matters comes from the @BruceFeiler book, "The Secret to Happy Families." Happy families tell their stories, good or bad. foodaism.substack.com/p/the-secret-t…

At the risk of disrupting The Narrative, #TSA Precheck at LGA Terminal C this afternoon was 15-minute wait, all check-ins hands by #ICE who were unmasked, professional, and courteous.

@Noahpinion Sweaters.

Fall is the least great season because A) nature feels like it's dying, B) it reminds us of our back-to-school days, C) days getting shorter feels like a process of loss, and D) cold drizzle is the worst kind of weather

@EliLake Around my house, at least, I've never heard him referred to as anything other than "Harvey C- Mansfield."

Jonah has to pay the bills like all of us in media. So I understand that he has to offer clickbait from time to time.

@steveschale You're just saying that because he prefers UGA over UF.

Love all the photos of Southside Chicago Pope Bob getting jerseys of teams he isn’t a fan of…

Speaking to the Jewish community in Rome, Pope John Paul II made crystal clear the teaching of the Catholic Church on 1) the brotherhood of Jews and Christians; 2) the sinfulness of anti-Jewish hatred and prejudice; and 3) the irrevocability of God's covenant with the Jewish people: "The Jewish religion is not 'extrinsic' to us, but in a certain way is 'intrinsic' to our own religion. With Judaism therefore we have a relationship which we do not have with any other religion. You are our dearly beloved brothers and, in a certain way, you are our elder brothers. On the basis of this brotherhood renewed by Christ, the Church rejects every form of discrimination and anti-Semitism. She condemns them as contrary to the very spirit of Christianity. She deplores all hatred, persecutions, displays of anti-Semitism directed against the Jews at any time and by anyone.... The covenant between God and the Jewish people has never been revoked. 'The gifts and the call of God are irrevocable' (Rom 11:29).

All men and women, especially Christians, are called to fix their gaze on those who suffer, on the pain of the lonely, and on those who are emarginated for various reasons, for without them we cannot build a just society. Only together can we build communities of solidarity capable of caring for everyone, in which wellbeing and peace can flourish for the benefit of all. Caring for the humanity of others helps us to live our own lives to the full.

@jpodhoretz You might even say that cinema is the ballet and opera of filmed entertainment.

The cinema was the dominant art form of the world for a century. That's a long run. Epic poetry dominated for a century. The novel dominated for a century. Then the cinema. Now it's "media" broadly defined. And so it goes. x.com/NotKennyRogers…

@cmclymer This wins

Leonardo DiCaprio has to wait another year to replace his first Oscar with a younger, prettier one.

Listen to Bruce. He's pre-med.

Remind me to tell you my "How Diane Warren Stiffed Me for a NYT Profile of How She Two-Timed HOW DO I LIVE" story someday.

Lesson from tonight: If you ever win an Oscar, don't waste time hugging people in the audience. Hurry onstage and give your full speech.

@marilynt2004 @MitchABlack @CarolLeonnig @mattmosk @JamesVGrimaldi @Joe_Stephens @danapriest How wonderful and generous of you to call out the work of a young reporter learning from one of the best. 👏

Working with terrific @MitchABlack is like watching @CarolLeonnig, @mattmosk @JamesVGrimaldi, @Joe_Stephens, @danapriest and jim rutenberg. Fact finders who won’t stop. Fuzzy memories and hard facts: An SC accuser's claims against Epstein, Trump examined postandcourier.com/news/epstein-v…

@davidgura @gtconway3d Fair is fair, this graphic looks an awful lot like the cover of David Graeber's DEBT.

Donald Trump's "military habit will very likely be paid for by borrowing money, adding to the nearly $39 trillion national debt. Which means that whatever the other results of his military adventures, Americans will be paying for them for years to come." nytimes.com/2026/03/10/opi…

@maziarbahari @iranwire Thinking of you, my old friend.

Khamenei 2.0 has been an AI-generated leader so far. He has not given a single public speech and has not met anyone in person on camera. But this documentary was released within hours of Mojtaba's election as leader. @iranwire team has added English subtitles. #IranWar #IranRevolution2026‌ #IranMassacre‌ #khamenei