Related Blog Posts on Death and Mourning and Parenting

star of david starry lights
Death and Mourning

For Some of Us the Holidays Are Just…Hard

Jaimie Green
As we head into the holiday season, I am acutely aware of how much different this year is going to be than previous ones. I will be celebrating without my mom for the first time. My mother died in January 2021, and I'm still dealing with the unexpected waves of grief that wash over me, sometimes out of nowhere. As I head into this first winter holiday season without her, I'm not quite sure I know what to expect, other than everything is going to be very different.
Parenting

Jewish Names to Brighten Your Summer and Life!

Ellie Rudee
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.
an image of two adults; a woman handing a plastic bag with pictures of dreidals and the word dreidal on it to a man
Hanukkah

Your Hanukkah Gift-Giving Guide is Here!

Crystal Hill
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.
an image of Laura Frank and her son Toby walking down the sidewalk
Adoption

A Temple Has Two Meanings

Laura Frank
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.
an image of space and the sun is starting to rise over the earth
Parenting

How NASA Engineers Helped Me Become a Better Jewish Parent

Rabbi Sharon G. Forman
"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.
Tishah B'Av

This Tishah B'Av, Act as if There is No God

Shayna Han
Tishah B'Av is a day of mourning, commemorating the destruction of the First and Second Temples. In recent years, it's also a day to mourn other tragedies that have darkened Jewish history - the Romans putting down the Bar Kochba revolt, mass murders of Jewish communities during the Crusades, expulsions from England, France, and Spain in the Middle Ages, and the Holocaust.
Rabbi Dow Marmur z”l
Death and Mourning

Remembering Rabbi Dow Marmur z”l

Rabbi Rick Jacobs
We have lost one of the G'dolay ha'dor, one of the rabbinic giants of our time. Rabbi Dow Marmur's life reflected the triumphs and tragedy of 20th Century Jewish life, beginning in Poland on the eve of the Shoah to his last days in the State of Israel. He was truly brilliant, incisive, and witty, with unshakable integrity.