A Nice Place to Visit, But…
There are people with hearts of stone; there are stones with human hearts.
-The Wall, by Yossi Gamzu
Holding My Father's Prayer Book
Guila remembers holding the prayer book for her father, who had cerebral palsy, every Yom Kippur. "What many might imagine to have been a dreary religious obligation was, for me, a highly emotional, touching experience."
This Yom Kippur, Try a Little Tenderness
Thirty years ago, Rabbi Motti Rotem, the first sabra (Israeli-born Jew) to be ordained as a Reform rabbi in Israel, addressed his congregation from the pulpit before Yom Kippur.
Confession: A Poem for the Vidui
Although we may not think of Judaism as a religion of confession, we often are called to profess our sins – privately, between oneself and God.
A Time to Follow Rules and a Time to Break Them
As a young girl, I was very compliant. If I was told to do something, I generally did it; if I was told not to do something, I usually didn’t. Of course, there were exceptions – ah, the motorcycle ride – but I think of myself as a rule follower.
The Calendar, Yet Again
The number of months, with God, is 12 in the Book of God, the day that He created the heavens and the earth… The month postponed is an increase of unbelief whereby the unbelievers go astray; one year they make it profane, and hallow it another…
-Quran 9:36-37
Reaching My Own Promised Land
When I think about my life
All that I’ve seen and done
I ask myself: Have I achieved
All that I might become…O… yes!…and no…
It is hard to reach all I can be
When oppression’s living within me
O help me now to end this slavery
An SOS from my OS seder
At future Passovers, if we consider the Jewish implications of the recent hit movie Her, we all could be using a talking computer operating system with artificial intelligence to lead our seders.
Considering "Next Year in Jerusalem"
On a recent trip to Jerusalem, my son decided that his favorite color was gold. Whenever he’s asked why, he replies with a wry smile befitting a 5-year-old.
“Jerusalem is the city of gold, of course,” he says.