The Shabbat Spice: Why Friday Night Dinner Tastes So Much Better
One day, my daughter walked into the house after attending preschool.
“What’s wrong?” she asked incredulously.
“Why?” I responded, “Is something wrong?”
“Well,” my very bright 3-year-old answered, “the house smells like Shabbat and I know that today is not Shabbat.”
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.
Making Shabbat Holy
When my mother was alive, she neither checked email nor opened snail mail on Shabbat. Whatever missives – real or virtual – awaited her, she knew, would still be there once Shabbat had ended. This minhag was her way to step back and set the day apart.
The Music of the Shofar Service
Tekiah! Teruah! Shevarim! Tekiah Gedolah!
Un’taneh Tokef: The Awesome Sanctity of This Day
In the traditional liturgy, the special character of each holiday is particularly conveyed by the piyyutim (hymns, liturgical poems) that are recited or chanted on that day. Most of these piyyutim have been omitted in Reform liturgies since the nineteenth century, out of a sense that their Hebrew diction is too arcane and their theology too medieval. Yet, some of these poems have routinely been retained in Reform High Holy Day prayer books, particularly for Yom Kippur.
How Sandy Koufax Became My Hero
The start of baseball season reminds me that as a young boy in Southern California in 1965, I thought only one thing when I heard the word “hero”: Sandy Koufax.
Where was God then? Where is God now?
Rabbi Billy Dreskin is a rabbi at Woodlands Community Temple, a Reform Jewish congregation in Greenburgh, New York.
Defending the State of Israel, One Kiddush at a Time
Even with support of other IDF volunteers, Basic Training was stressful, demoralizing, and chaotic. Why, then, did I volunteer to lead Kiddush at a Shabbat dinner?