Dr. Madelyn Mishkin Katz

Anyone who has visited my home or my office knows that I have a rather large collection of Hanukkah menorahs. It is not a collection that any museum would covet – just a lot of contemporary, fun menorahs from all sorts of stores, ranging from the Shalom House to Bed, Bath and Beyond and more. With such a collection one might think that Hanukkah was an important holiday in my home – as a child and today.

I have had the pleasure of writing about some very unique holiday experiences that took place in my home when I was growing up. Passover seders with Jesuit priests, discovering the connection between the World Series and "Yom Kippur" transistor radios, and Han

My parents raised my brothers and me to have a strong identity as Reform Jews. We were clear about our Jewish ancestry. We fully embraced our connection to and responsibility toward synagogue life. We appreciated all the rituals we celebrated as a Jewish family. At the same time, though, they taught us to not be afraid of "the other"–those of different races, ethnic backgrounds and, especially, different religions. In fact, our respect and appreciation for the "the other" helped to strengthen our identity as Jews. So when it came time for celebrating Pesach, our seder was a perfect reflection of that philosophy.

In raising my two daughters, I had always hoped they would have courage to face life challenges with confidence and character. When they were young, I anticipated that those challenges would be the normal – difficult teachers, college rejections, and

Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is a concept I came to understand in my early adult years. But this was my understanding during my childhood:

1.  Yom Kippur really translated into “Indian Summer.” Why? Every year my mother and I made our seasonal trip to