A brand-new baby is an astonishing being! How a tiny human could emerge from a mere bundle of cells, and the simple fact that any human being exists earthside, is truly remarkable.
You're expecting a baby or perhaps taking on a Hebrew name and looking for some sunny inspiration. Jewish tradition offers a rich array of names that evoke the beauty of summer and the Jewish holidays that fall during the summer months.
When I found out I was pregnant, my mind was immediately filled with questions and plans. When my son Logan was born at 34 weeks, many of those plans quickly changed.
Hanukkah is one of my favorite holidays, partially because it gives me the opportunity to give gifts to my loved ones every night for eight nights! Gift giving with intentionality is one of my favorite ways to express affection while teaching my child about Jewish values and traditions.
Earlier this year, on a beautiful spring day, we drove 30 minutes from our home in Philadelphia to a Thai temple and cultural center to celebrate Songkran, Thailand's Lunar New Year.
As I watched my son play, my mind would drift to mothers in Israel whose toddlers were no longer able to do so. My heart broke for the parents and young children who were caught in the crossfire of the war for no reason other than being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
"Good Night Oppy," a documentary streaming on Amazon Prime about the two robotic rovers that NASA sent to Mars in 2003, grabbed me by the heart. What I did not expect to experience from this movie was a potent lesson in parenting from NASA engineers.
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM) in the U.S. Each of us likely knows someone, either in our Jewish community or our secular communities, who has been impacted by or is a survivor of domestic violence.