Rio Roots: On Being Jewish in Brazil
My grandparents came to Brazil from Europe in the 1920s, and my parents were born in Brazil. My mother's Brazilian roots were in the northern state of Maranhão, which had a very small Jewish community.
On Simchat Torah, We Turn and Turn Again
I like the symmetry of the concept of return.
I like the idea that, no matter how linear we think we are, or time is, or God is, we tend to find a way back. Even God recognizes this view: Why else create t’shuvah (repentance) before ever creating the heavens and the earth?
Waving the Flag of Egalitarianism in Israel on Simchat Torah
One of the great paradoxes of being an American Reform Jew who chose to make aliyah (move to Israel) is that the whole concept of majority and minority is turned on its head. One the one hand, as a Jew, I am culturally and ethnically now part of the majority.
How My Son Helped Me Re-Imagine Shabbat
Shabbat is an ever-evolving practice. When things are easy, I have a regular Shabbat practice and rituals that I practice every week, providing a Shabbat that is full of rest. Before 2011, I had Shabbat figured out.
Shabbat on Halloween: Horror of Horrors or Wonder of Wonders?
With a borscht-curdling geshrei (shout), Halloween this year falls on Shabbat. On a Friday night, trick-or-treaters, even Jewish ones, will be knocking.
Should we open the door? Or should we be spooked about joining the celebration?
Five Jewish Things You Can Do to Celebrate Food Day
October 24th is Food Day, a nationwide celebration of the movement for sustainable, healthy, affordable food.
Tricks, Treats, and Tradition: Being an American Jew on Halloween
Picture this: The setting was a dining room on the East Coast on Friday, October 31st, sometime in the late 1990s. It was dinnertime, and the father of the family was seated at the head of the table while the mother scurried back-and-forth between the kitchen and the dining room.
Which part of the Torah portion is chanted on Shabbat each week?
Is there a suggested part of the parashah to chant each week?
Do we literally read the entire Torah in one year, starting on Simchat Torah?
We read the entire Torah over a year, beginning the cycle on the same week as Simchat Torah. The Torah is divided into 54 portions – or parashiyot – and, generally, one portion is read each week on Shabbat.
Celebrating Layers of Meaning on Simchat Torah
On Simchat Torah, I watch as the Torah scroll is carefully unfurled onto a series of long connected tables – the text so much more than designs scattered on parchment.