Michele Braun

Michele Braun is currently studying for an MA in Jewish Education at  Hebrew University in Jerusalem.  She is also an art student and practices the ancient craft of tapestry making. She and her family are currently members at Westchester Reform Temple in Scarsdale, NY, where she occasionally leads Torah study.

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Rosh HaShanah

The Binding of Isaac: What if God Had Approached Sarah First?

Michele Braun
In a scant 19 lines, Genesis Chapter 22 reports that God once instructed Abraham to offer his son Isaac as a burnt offering. This notorious incident, known as the Akedah or the Binding of Isaac, is read every Rosh HaShanah and has inspired an unknowable number of sermons, essays, artworks, and interpretations.
Person dressed up at home while lighting Shabbat candles in a living room setting
COVID-19

Shabbat as Alternate Time, Especially During the Pandemic

Michele Braun
 July 8, 2020

Friday’s sunset could be no different than Thursday’s, a time marker notching off another day or another week, but Shabbat requires us to mark a more substantial difference,  Regularity is key to keep track of our lives between other Jewish times and when days blur into each other.