At Tu BiShvat, Digging for Spiritual Growth
While my neighbors were putting their Christmas trees to the curb, in what seems like a ritual of replacement, I was preparing to plant for Tu BiShvat.
Those Who Plant Will Reap: A Tu BiShvat Lesson
Tu BiShvat is a reminder that we spend our lives planting seeds. Time and effort are needed for our efforts to bear fruit. Wait patiently. One day, like the seed, we will be blessed.
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.
How Purim and Pesach Can Save Us
Most of us are probably all too well familiar with the old canard regarding Jewish holidays: “They tried to kill us, we survived, let’s eat!” Though the popularity of the formula may have sad implications regarding how people regard these sacred observances, we have to acknowledge that it contain
How Lent Started With Passover
Many Christians and Jews know of the connection between Passover and Easter. But what about the connection between the 40 days of Lent and Passover?
Introducing The New Union Haggadah!
As we approach the celebration of Passover this year, a new resource and opportunity to experience the timeless meaning of our Festival of Freedom will be available for American Reform Jews.
From Crimea: "Tell Them There are Still Jews Here"
Overcome with emotion, the young man confined to a wheelchair began to sob. “Please tell them – tell everyone – that there are still Jews here…”
Planting a Seed
By Joshua Weinberg
“And when you come into the Land, and have planted all manner of food bearing trees… (Lev. 19:23) The Holy one Blessed be he said to the people Israel: Even though you have found [the land] full of plenty, you shall not say: We shall sit and not plant, rather proceed with caution in your planting… For as you have entered and found the fruits of others’ labor, you so shall plant for your children. (Midrash Tanhuma)
If you’re like me, then you may remember that pivotal moment of Jewish education when you received your very own Jewish National Fund (JNF) certificate for a tree planted in Israel. Whether it was for a birth, birthday, bar/bat mitzvah, or in memory of a loved one, a tree was planted in Israel to mark the occasion. The message was clear: with every passing milestone we want to connect Jews to the Land of Israel and to the Zionist enterprise. All of us who were the fortunate recipients of such trees knew in the recesses of our mind that somewhere in that strip of land, in some forest, was our tree, our little piece of Israel. As the certificates read, the JNF wished us the following: “We wish you the fortune of seeing it grow with much pleasure and ease.”