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.
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.
83 is the New 13: Why Have a Second Bar Mitzvah?
Inspired by Stan, our congregation's 83-year-old bar mitzvah boy, I’m thinking that I may not wait until I turn 83 to recreate some part of my entry into adulthood, according to Jewish tradition, on an upcoming Friday night.
Spice It up with Shabbat La Vida Loca
In 2010, I watched two dynamic Argentine cantors, Gaston Bogomolni and Ari Litvak, create an incredible Shabbat evening service called “Davenin’ La Vida Loca,” which translates loosely as “Praying the Crazy Life.” Filled with music in the Argentinean style of Friday night worship, together with compositions from Latin American composers, the worship was so well received that Bogomolni and Litvak were commissioned to create a series of Latin American anthologies. The first one, Ruach Hadarom, Anthology of Congregational Melodies from Latin America, Volume I: Shabbat, will be available soon, with anthologies for the High Holidays, festivals, and weddings to follow.
Are Chinese and Yiddish Mutually Exclusive?
I ask you, is this a sheyn punim (a pretty face)? I’ve been dying to say those words for the past four years, ever since I came to China to work as a teacher of oral English at Nanyang Normal University.
How an Indiana Deli Brought Love and Support to Flint's Jewish Community
In the midst of the water crisis here in Flint, MI, Shapiro’s Delicatessen of Indianapolis – purveyors of exceptional Jewish foods since 1905 – traveled 300 miles to deliver a “We stand with you” meal to Flint’s Jewish community on the last Shabbat in January.
"Please Rise"... but What If I Can't Stand During Prayer?
I’ve often been taught that as the people of Israel, named after our forefather, we are meant to struggle with God. It just never occurred to me that could include the struggle to remain upright.