Galilee Diary: Galilee encounters
It’s Hard to be a Jew at Christmas, But Even Harder on Tu BiSh’vat
It is a truth universally acknowledged that it can be difficult to be Jewish at Christmas time. It has seeped into North American cultural consciousness so thoroughly that South Park even wrote a song about it, complete with trademark expletives.
Simchat Torah
"Rejoicing in the Law;" holiday that celebrates the completion (and then the beginning) of the annual reading of the Torah.
Tu BiShvat
"15th of Shevat;" New Year of the Trees; Jewish Arbor Day, which is a minor festival.
Yom HaAtzmaut
Israeli Independence Day, which commemorates the establishment of the modern state of Israel in 1948.
Yom HaZikaron
Israeli Memorial Day on which citizens remember the soldiers who lost their lives fighting the War of Independence and other subsequent battles.
How I Teach My Kids That Being Jewish is Awesome and Awe-Filled
Last year, my pre-school-aged daughter was acutely aware that her friends and their families would be celebrating Christmas and that she wasn’t going to be a part of it.