Displaying 1 - 10 of 15
How Midrash and Commentary Help Us Read Between the Lines
As Rosh HaShanah approached last year, I was living in southwestern China, where I celebrated by eating apples and explaining the Jewish New Year to my Chinese roommate.
Cakes and Miracles: A Purim Tale
Even though Hershel can no longer see, he remembers what things looked like before he lost his sight - and creates beautiful shapes from his mother’s hamentashen dough. His cookies earn him a compliment and a possible future job from the town baker.
11 Things to Know About a M'gillah Reading
Purim, a Jewish holiday in late winter, celebrates Queen Esther and her cousin Mordechai and how they saved the Jews of Persia from an extermination plot by Haman, the king’s vizier. Central to the observance is a public reading – usually in the synagogue – of the Book of Esther (M’gillat Esther, the M’gillah), which tells the story of the holiday.
It's OK Not to Drink on Purim - and the Rest of Us Should Be Respectful of That
We're forbidden from pressuring other people to drink. On Purim and otherwise, what, exactly, can we do to respect those boundaries?
Lessons from Megillat Esther: The Need for Study and Action
When I was a child, I remember saying to my mother about the Purim story, "Maybe Haman wouldn't have done anything if he'd known Queen Esther was Jewish." King Ahasuerus' easily manipulated nature laid the foundations for the story, while Haman's vociferous antisemitism drove the story forward.
When the Queen Says No
I had been wanting to write about Queen Vashti for a while. A big part of my rabbinate and my writing focuses on uplifting the stories of women in the biblical narrative, especially those who do not get enough attention.
7 Jewish Endeavors to Make 5782 a Sweet New Year
It’s a long-standing custom for Jews to wish one another a “sweet new year” on Rosh Hashanah; to hope that this coming year will be one filled with joy, fulfillment, and an abundance of blessings. However, Judaism isn’t a path focused simply on wishing for good things; if our goal is to make each year “sweeter” than the last, we must work to make it happen.
Jewish Institutions Must Also Do T’shuvah
I pray that our observance of Yom Kippur will be probing and transformative, helping us become the best people and the most inspiring Movement that we are meant to be.
Cheshbon Hanafesh for Your Congregation
The High Holiday season is an important time of personal and communal reflection, including your congregation’s leadership. This can also be a time of reflection for your congregation’s leadership.
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.