Rethinking the Holy Days
I’ve come to the conclusion we need to change the date of Simchat Torah. Our Jewish festivals must be re-envisioned as inspirational community gatherings of joyful spiritual Jewish celebration. Every single festival needs to be a time of great community involvement and meaning.
10 Jewish Reasons To Quit Smoking
Rosh HaShanah is over, and it’s time to start acting on your new year’s resolutions.
Beyond Bokser: 11 Ways to Go Green on Tu BiShvat and Year-Round
Years ago, on a cold and sparkly winter afternoon, I sat with my younger sister in the living room, both of us savoring the long, dark pods of chewy bokser we had saved from our Tu BiShvat celebration at Religious Scho
Happy New Year to the Trees!
Green Shevat Challenge: Learn to Cook and Celebrate Tu BiSh’vat!
A New Beginning and a Chance to Become Our Better Selves
During the 10 days of repentance and especially on Yom Kippur, we struggle with ourselves, shedding our flaws and the parts of our spirit that detract from our holiness.
Please Join Us, But Not Just on the Days of Awe
We want you to come to High Holiday services, but we want you to come back, too -- when it’s less crowded and when we can welcome you and show you what we’re all about.
Returning to the People – and the Parents – We Want to Be
I don’t want to raise my children in a home with yelling. And yet, when I slip in a way that’s human and understandable, I fail both myself and my children.
A Poem for Tashlich: “Stale Bread and Old Sins”
Tashlich (to cast), a ritual practice of Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews, customarily takes place on the afternoon of Rosh HaShanah near a natural body of water.
On the Virtue of a Bent Finger: A Challenge for the Days of Awe
At recent years’ Days of Awe services, I could swear I saw index fingers popping out all over the place – fingers of accusation, not of ownership or responsibility.