Rosh Chodesh: My “Girl” Gathering
With great excitement, tinged with a touch of trepidation, I moved to Israel in the summer of 1996 to begin my first year of rabbinical school at Hebrew Union College.
Simultaneous Joy and Pain: The Wisdom of the Counting of the Omer
This year at our Passover seder, I experienced something deeply powerful which I had not felt in the context of Passover before.
On Jewish Unity
I met him on my flight back to Boston from Atlanta. He was a Muslim student from Dubai, I was a Jewish student from the United States. We had come from very different places but were on our way to the same university.
Experiencing Rosh Chodesh at the Kotel
This morning, we went to the Western Wall to pray with Women of the Wall for Rosh Chodesh Sivan, the festival celebrating the new month.
See, Count, and Interpret: The Three Hands of Rosh Chodesh
Rosh Chodesh, like many things in Judaism, has three hands.
Rosh Chodesh: A Monthly Ritual
I started a new congregational position this year. The job, which is part-time, is at a wonderful congregation that meets in a 315-year old Presbyterian church. Since my working hours are limited, I am focused on making the most of my time there.
Leaving the Fleshpots of Egypt for the Promised Land of Israel, Then and Now
In our portion of the week, B'haalot'cha, particularly in Numbers 11, we find a famous and classic episode of the murmurings of our people in the desert.
Sufficiency Consciousness: A Path to God
God said to Moses, "Speak to Aaron and say to him: 'When you mount the lamps, the seven lamps shall illuminate the menorah.'" (Numbers 8:1, 2) These two simple verses begin a diverse web of instructions and stories that comprise this week's Torah portion, Parashat B’haalot’cha.
"Daddy, Are We There Yet?"
There's a joke that started making the rounds when Jews from the former Soviet Union began arriving in large numbers in Israel:
"So, really, how was life back in Russia?" a Sabra asks a new immigrant, just arrived in Israel from the former Soviet Union.