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.
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.
How to Mark Your Wedding Date When You’ve Had to Postpone
There is some small comfort in the fact that Jewish ritual offers many ways to mark life’s significant moments and to acknowledge the complicated mix of feelings that may accompany them. Here are some ideas to get you thinking.
The Day I Guarded My Synagogue's Front Door
Until a few months ago, I felt safe whenever I stepped into our temple. But then the massacre at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life Congregation occurred, and I was asked to guard our temple’s front door.