Summertime Slowdown for Shabbat
How To Be The Perfect Weekend Guest
At my vacation home community, the conversation on the tennis court most Mondays centers on the same topic – weekend guests. Everyone has something to say about the guests who have left, those who are coming, and the ones still in residence.
Autism, Teens and Torah - Just Another Shabbat
One recent Shabbat, on the anniversary of his bar mitzvah, a young man with autism chanted Torah at our erev Shabbat service. I've been thinking about it since, and was genuinely moved by the whole experience.
Even the Cats Know it is Shabbat in Jerusalem
Jerusalem is overrun with stray cats. Most of the week, they hang out on sidewalks and hide under parked cars, but on Shabbat they lounge in the middle of the street, baking in their patches of sunlight, daring you to move them or for a car to disturb their well-deserved nap.
A Letter to My Son on His First Day of Jewish Summer Camp
Having been a sleepaway camper myself for every summer of my childhood, I know camp will change you. I can't wait for you to come home and teach us what you have learned.
How Shabbat Traditions Give You What You Need, When You Need It
On most Friday afternoons during the last six years, just before turning off my computer, I peruse a starred folder in my Gmail account that most people probably don’t have: It’s my “Possible FB postings for Shabbat” file, an organic, growing anthology of quotes related to Shabbat. Many of them are borrowed from the liturgy in the Reform siddur (prayer book).
When a quote strikes me as the right one for a particular week, I make that text my Facebook status, turn off my computer, and let Shabbat begin. Last week, Ahad Ha-am’s words spoke to me, as they so often do. Even as I scurried to close up shop on the work week, I noticed that the first quote in the anthology is dated July 19, 2010 – almost exactly six years ago to the day.
Why Shabbat Is the Opposite of Busy, and Five Ways to Get in on It
"Busy." It’s a word that rolls off my tongue with such ease that it scares me. Being busy – overscheduled and overcommitted while deeply resenting this state of being – takes a great toll on my physical, psychological, and spiritual wellness. And I'm not alone. Busy has become emblematic of success in our 21st-century society -- and yet, more than ever, people are exhausted, burned out, and desperately seeking refuge from their everyday existence.
A New Moment to Come Together Against Islamophobia
This week, the Jewish community celebrates Rosh Chodesh Tammuz, a holy day that continues through today.* While we in the Jewish community are celebrating a new month, the Muslim community is observing Eid al-Fitr, one of two Muslim festival holidays commemorating the end of the holy month of Ramadan and the beginning of the month of Shawwal.
This confluence of celebrations is bound to happen because both Judaism and Islam follow a lunar calendar. But even the fundamental fact that both faith traditions follow a lunar calendar is an important reminder that we have more in common than what makes us different. The coinciding holidays remind us to celebrate the similarities of our faith traditions, exploring the values, teachings, or practices that unite us.
Torah Cantillation for the High Holy Days
There are many elements which make the High Holy Days a unique experience. Often, congregations swell to double or triple their usual size, the musical settings of even common liturgy are different, and some might alter their dress by wearing either traditionally all-white garments or more formal wear than they would sport on Shabbat. Some congregations even have unique garments to dress their Torah scrolls in white.
Exodus 1:1-6:1: Moses and the Challenge of Diversity
This week we dive into the second book of the Torah, Exodus. While the book of Genesis traversed thousands of years, Exodus focuses on the evolution of the Israelites as a people for 40 defining years.