Welcome to Miriam’s House: Not Your Children’s Judaism
I am about to become an empty nester. Years ago, when the kids first started going to camp, my husband and I used to call ourselves “ENITs,” Empty Nesters in Training.
A Week of Trauma and Triumph
On the same day the U.S. embassy opened in Jerusalem, more than 60 Palestinians lost their lives at the Gaza border. How can we bring balance to these disparate events?
Wrestling with Torah and More on the Way to Adult B'nai Mitzvah
In the process of becoming b’nai mitzvah, adult students grapple, struggle, and wrestle, and in the end, always bring Torah to life and life to Torah.
Is There a Blessing for a Blintz?
When we moved to Israel, I kept Grandmother’s blintz pans. They were a link to the past: to heritage, to history, to family.
Shavuot: Counting Up to the Celebration
Just as the light grows with each night of Hanukkah, so too do our joy and excitement grow as we count the Omer for 49 days on the way to Shavuot.
On Shavuot: "Re-Covenanting" as a Unified People
Remarkable unity characterized the Jewish people in the days before receiving Torah at Sinai. Today, such unity isn’t always visible in the Jewish world.
Shavuot Backyard Fun: Making Blueberry Balsamic Ice Cream
This ice cream is made with 100% kid power! I love this process because it’s fun, interactive, and takes some stamina.
I Will Shelter You
Way back in July 1990, when my daughter Katie was two years old, Ellen turned to our little girl and said, "Tell Daddy something he doesn't know." Katie whispered, smiling shyly, "Today is Mommy's birthday." Can you say doghouse?
How Do We Make God Holy?
The point of being Jewish is to have a relationship with God. Yet, a relationship implies a certain give and take, and there is precious little in the Torah that talks about what we have that God could possibly need. What can we give to God?
Tearing a Hole in Being
At the end of Parashat Emor, a disturbing incident is related. In the heat of a fight, a man curses God and is stoned to death for blasphemy (Leviticus 24:10-23). It is understandable that readers may be repulsed by this narrative, and shocked and angry to find it in the Torah.