Early Hanukkah in 2013: Jewish Calendar Fun
Whenever I'm asked if the Jewish holidays are coming early or late this year, I promptly answer that they'll be coming on time. And that's partially true. Rosh Hashanah will always arrive on the first day of the Jewish month of Tishrei just as Hanukkah will always begin on the 25th of Kislev.
Miracles: They're Not Just for Hanukkah Anymore
I’m not even certain of the year, but it was sometime after the tattoo and before the death march. Aron Lieb was in his early twenties, but he felt elderly. He was working in a coal mine, forced by the Nazis to supply fuel for their war effort.
Yom HaShoah: The Remembrance of Many
No One Superior
Seven candles are lit on the candle table on the bimah at our congregation on Yom HaShoah, the day of Holocaust Remembrance for victims and heroes of that challenging and tragic time in human history.
Remembering the Holocaust in Lithuania
The sight of neo-Nazis parading through Lithuania’s capital city in an unsanctioned march sent chills down the spines of many people both inside and outside this small Eastern European country – and rightfully so. Public expression of hatred in a land with a horrific Holocaust history is cause for alarm.
The Stone-Thrower, The Israel-Denier and Me
I sense the existence of one Am Yisrael – one Jewish people – on Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day).
How Not to Repent, as Taught by My Favorite TV Show
Season three of Transparent premieres September 23, and it couldn’t come at a more appropriate time: in the middle of Elul, the day before we begin reciting Selichot.
How to Open Doors to Connect Seekers to Jewish Life
Anyone can open the door to Judaism for another, but will those standing at the door be intimidating shomrim (guards) or welcoming mezuzot (encased Torah texts on doorframes)?
10 Awesome Books for the Days of Awe (and After)
Here are 10 volumes, from the humorous to the humbling, that you’ll want on your reading list to help heighten the High Holidays.