Only When We Tarry Can We Touch the Holy
I had the recent pleasure to be invited by a friend on a hike in Los Liones Canyon of Pacific Palisades. It was gorgeous summer day and the trail was steep. We pretty much hightailed it up as fast as our feet would carry us!
This Sukkot, Fostering Interfaith Relations in Israel
"At the edge of a valley so quiet and pretty stands a five story building far away from the city."
On Simchat Torah, We Turn and Turn Again
I like the symmetry of the concept of return.
I like the idea that, no matter how linear we think we are, or time is, or God is, we tend to find a way back. Even God recognizes this view: Why else create t’shuvah (repentance) before ever creating the heavens and the earth?
Waving the Flag of Egalitarianism in Israel on Simchat Torah
One of the great paradoxes of being an American Reform Jew who chose to make aliyah (move to Israel) is that the whole concept of majority and minority is turned on its head. One the one hand, as a Jew, I am culturally and ethnically now part of the majority.
Talmud Torah: To Study, Learn, and Grow
Following the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, there was no central place for Jews to make sacrifices and worship God.
Simchat Torah: Celebrating God’s Precious Gift
Immediately after the High Holidays, we celebrate Sukkot, one of the most important biblical Jewish holidays. How do we commemorate the Israelites' journey from bondage in Egypt to the Promised Land?
To Test or Not to Test: Ashkenazi Jews and BRCA Gene Mutations
It's been well over a year since Angelina Jolie's New York Times op-ed brought hereditary breast and ovarian cancer (HBOC) syndrome to the world's attention.
The Torah In Haiku: B'reishit
God speaks, things happen
Light and dark, heaven and earth,
The seas and dry land
The sun and the moon
Creatures of the air, sea, land
Then man and woman
Finally, Shabbat
A day set aside for rest
Sanctified by God
A Time to Follow Rules and a Time to Break Them
As a young girl, I was very compliant. If I was told to do something, I generally did it; if I was told not to do something, I usually didn’t. Of course, there were exceptions – ah, the motorcycle ride – but I think of myself as a rule follower.
How My Son Helped Me Re-Imagine Shabbat
Shabbat is an ever-evolving practice. When things are easy, I have a regular Shabbat practice and rituals that I practice every week, providing a Shabbat that is full of rest. Before 2011, I had Shabbat figured out.