Rabbi Bonnie Margulis
Ensuring the Success or Failure of Dreams
Reading Parashat Vayeishev and other dream-filled portions in Genesis, we wonder if it’s possible to influence a dream’s prophecy rather than passively waiting for the outcome to unfold. The upcoming holiday, Hanukkah, provides a clue.
What are the names for God that are used in the Hebrew Bible?
There are many different names for God in the Hebrew Bible, or the Tanach.
I am in the process of converting to Judaism. Is it considered customary to render a gratuity to the Rabbi that we have been working with?
I am in the process of converting to Judaism. When the Conversion ceremonies are completed, is it considered customary to render a gratuity to the Rabbi that we have been working with? This is a sensitive subject to ask of our Rabbi, whom we love.
We are expecting a child in a few weeks. Is there something for girls that is equivalent to the bris ceremony for boys?
Traditionally, a brit milah is the ceremony whereby a Jewish boy is brought into the covenant. For a girl, there was a naming which took place in the synagogue, usually done by the father or grandfather coming to the synagogue and having a blessing said on behalf of the baby, who usually wasn't present.
The First Woman Rabbi
Years ago, as an undergraduate at NYU, I was working on my senior honors thesis, “On the Ordination of Women as Rabbis.” It had been only 11 years since the first woman was ordained, but it was more than half a lifetime ago for me, and so seemed a very long
