A Sustainable Hanukkah
“A great miracle happened there,” we say, as we spin the Hanukkah dreidel each year while eating latkes fried in oil. But what was “the miracle” of Hanukkah? Our tradition recounts more than one.
Happy Hanumas? Ditch Season's Greetings
Happy Hanumas? Happy Chrismakah? Merry Chanukah? The winter holidays are fast approaching. It's time for non-celebrants of Christmas to read yourselves for the onslaught of seasonal niceties from store clerks and acquaintances.
Where Are We on Christmas Day?
Temple Beth El, Madison WI
Originally posted on Rabbi Jonathan's Rabbinical Blog
"Where are you on Christmas Day?"
A Unique Tu BiShvat for Israel's Trees
Jewish communities around the world marked the "new year for the trees" last week with tree planting ceremonies and seders that celebrate Israel's seven species (wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives and dates if you are keeping track!).
Eight Nights, Redefined
For some children, finding out that the tooth fairy isn't real is the final straw.
Tu Bishvat: Doing Something About It.
I consider myself an environmentalist. I write about the earth, think about the earth, care about the earth. I wrote my rabbinical thesis partly on Judaism and the environment, and I helped found en environmental advocacy committee in my synagogue.
Hanukkah: More Than Just Presents?
The Jewish Annotated New Testament: A Perfect Gift for the Holidays!
Interfaith Dilemmas, from Holidays to Weddings
Four years ago, Josh and I met at the intern orientation for our training programs in the mental health field. I thought he was loud and a know-it-all (truth be told, he really does know a lot!) and he thought I had pretty eyes.
"Buy. Buy. Buy." Not!
For the past several weeks my mailboxes, both virtual and real, have been overflowing with messages urging me to “buy, buy, buy.” As a result, I have been spending a lot of time hitting “delete, delete, delete” and tossing torn envelopes and catalogs into the recycle bag to t