Jewish Holidays

Dayenu: The Power of Enough-ness

Crystal Hill
March 27, 2023
Last year was my first time celebrating Passover and one of the first times I sang with the congregational choir. One of the songs we performed for the seder was "Dayenu." The choir director explained during practice that in Hebrew, "dayenu" means "enough." I loved the melody of the song and found myself humming the tune as I prepared for Passover.

Feasting with Foodish: Persian Love Cake and Tishpishti Semolina Cake

Foodish
Ellie Rudee
February 28, 2023
The saying goes, "tell me what you eat, and I'll tell you who you are." Food is not only fuel for our bodies, it's also a conduit of culture, storytelling, and identity. The Jewish people know this well. Our culinary traditions have preserved our stories and history, from generation to generation.

He’Brews, He’Leads

Ellie Rudee
February 23, 2023
Third-year Hebrew Union College-NYC student Jesse Epstein hopes to make Judaism more accessible, meaningful, and relevant for today’s Jewish community – through beer. He recently became the owner of Shmaltz Brewing Company, a beer-brewing brand aimed at providing community members with a mode and environment for consumption steeped in Jewish ethics, text, and tradition.

Royal Fashion: Esther Edition

Rabbi Sari Laufer
February 22, 2023
Clothes may not make the woman, but there is no doubt that there are times when the clothes we wear make a difference. Clothes can help define us; think of a doctor donning their long white coat for the first time. Clothes can also help others identify us; a firefighter or an EMT arriving in uniform tells me that help has arrived. Sometimes, the clothes we wear help us imagine a different future for ourselves. Organizations that provide people with affordable business attire for interviews, such as Bottomless Closet or Dress for Success, have long understood that first impressions matter.

Tu BiShvat - Nature’s Invitation to Grow

Dasee Berkowitz
January 25, 2023
Tu BiShvat, the Jewish New Year of the Trees, is upon us. While it may not be the most celebrated new year in the Jewish tradition, there is a simple power to the holiday - the call for us to become attuned to nature and learn what it can teach us about personal growth.

New Year, Same Me: Finding the Diamond Within

Sophie Gibly
December 15, 2022
As Jews, we have the opportunity to celebrate the New Year not once, but several times. The Jewish year has four different New Year celebrations: Rosh HaShanah, Passover, Tu BiShvat, and Elul. Many Jews also celebrate the Gregorian New Year in January. That means we get five opportunities every year to do an accounting of our soul (cheshbon hanefesh) and make resolutions for growth and betterment.

Sharing the Miracle of Jewish Joy

Rabbi Sari Laufer
December 14, 2022
Conversations about Hanukkah are few and far between in our ancient texts; most of what the Talmud records about Hanukkah is within a few pages in the tractate called Shabbat. But, as is so often the case, those millennia-old words have grown in significance as we prepare for Hanukkah 5783.