How a 94-Year-Old Jewish Woman’s Friendship with German Students Changed Them All
My wife Vickie and I were thrilled to learn that our German friends, Pastor Ursula Sieg and her husband Pastor Martin Pommerening, were coming to visit us in America.
Creating Israel/Diaspora Partnerships: Nurturing All Our Jewish Communities
Do today’s Diaspora Jews see themselves as living in a Diaspora? And if not, how do we define our relationship to the Jewish State and the Zionist enterprise?
This Jewish-American Life: Notes on the Fourth of July
Last Shabbat, I was excited to attend services at my home congregation with our participants in the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism's Machon Kaplan work/study program.
Love Thy Neighbor: A Look at Interfaith Issues in Israel
On the plane back from my year in Israel as part of my first year of rabbinical school, I had the privilege of sitting next to a man who had participated in a Christian mission trip in Israel.
A Woman’s Place is on the Money
When I was in eighth grade, my family and I took a vacation to England. It was an awesome trip, from visiting Oxford (or Hogwarts, as I recognized it) to Big Ben to the London Eye.
Kids’ Questions are the Antidote to the Pew Study's “Jewish No Religion” Category
In a world increasingly populated by people who the Pew Research Study's "A Portrait of Jewish Americans" designates JNR (Jewish No Religion), it turns out that if you ask Jewish mid
Crossing the Border, Jewish at the Boundaries
"You know, I was never Christian. I was born Jewish."
"I know, and your momma and your ema and your grandparents were all born Jewish," I said, deep in conversation with my 6-year-old stepdaughter, Shaya.
Jewish Teachings I Wish I Had Learned in 8th Grade
I was recently asked to deliver the commencement address to the eighth-grade graduating class at Southern Connecticut Hebrew Academy, a Judaic and secular day school in Orange, CT. The students are from Chabad and Modern Orthodox families.
An Audacious Organization
As the cake arrived at the table, glowing with candles, the group of nearly forty women began to sing “Happy Birthday” to the lone man at the table. Their smiles lit up the room as their voices came together in celebration.