New & Updated Resources: Preparing for the High Holidays in Challenging Times
The Power of Shabbat, Even Over the Loudspeaker
Even as structure and routine begin to crumble, ritual observances don’t stop for the virus. As did many generations of Jews before us, we must adapt ritual to this unprecedented way of life, and Shabbat services, a mainstay for nursing home residents, necessitated creative adaptation.
Shabbat as Alternate Time, Especially During the Pandemic
Friday’s sunset could be no different than Thursday’s, a time marker notching off another day or another week, but Shabbat requires us to mark a more substantial difference, Regularity is key to keep track of our lives between other Jewish times and when days blur into each other.
Resources for Celebrating Shabbat Tzedek
On the weekend of January 15-18, the Reform Jewish Movement will commemorate the legacy of the civil rights movement and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., with its annual observance of Shabbat Tzedek.
Our Shabbat: It May Not Be Perfect, but It’s Perfect for Us
As the working mom of three kids, a five-year-old and two-and-a-half-year-old twins, most of my week-day mornings go something like this:
Remembering My Shamash
It’s the fourth day of Hanukkah and already my hanukkiyah is covered in wax. It drips down the arms and covers the base and gets stuck where the candles are supposed to be placed.
Call for Submissions for New Shabbat Anthology
Transcontinental Music Publications, now a division of the American Conference of Cantors, invites composers to submit new musical settings of Shabbat texts for consideration for one of its first new projects, Shabbat Anthology Volume VIII.
Cold: Prayer for a Chilly Shabbat
Snow days can be fun; not so this kind of cold. It was colder in Chicago this week than it was in the North Pole.
A Jewish Response to Political Scandal
As we witness public figures dismantled by the revelation of ugly episodes from their pasts, we parents must distill these events and their aftermath for our children.
The Challenge of Holding God Close While Keeping Fear at Bay
The poet Yehuda Amichai writes: I don’t want an invisible god... I want a god who is seen... , so I can lead him around and tell him what he doesn’t see… ... In this week’s portion, Ki Tisa, we reconnect with this unfinished storyline at the beginning of Exodus 32. While Moses tarries atop Mount Sinai, the people down below are losing their patience: