Revisiting and Rededicating
Every May, Jewish American Heritage Month offers all of us the opportunity to more deeply engage with the three and a half centuries of Jewish life in the United States.
When Jewish Cemeteries Rock: My Moroccan Lag BaOmer Adventure
I had always thought of Jewish cemeteries as solemn places – but that was before going to a hilloula (festivity) 30 years ago in the Moroccan town of Ouazzane on Lag BaOmer, the Jewish holiday that falls on the 33rd day between Pesach and Shavuot.
How We Can Embrace Those Struggling with Severe Depression
May is Mental Health Awareness Month, a time to consider how we can help prevent and treat mental illness – including the agonizing scourge of clinical depression. It’s also the month leading up to Shavuot, when we read the Book of Ruth. The story of Ruth and Naomi includes powerful lessons about how relationships and community can restore and sustain those facing difficult times.
Remembering the Lessons of Two Different Ruths
Every year as Shavuot approaches, I think about my mother. That’s because her name was Ruth -- just like the book we Jews read on Shavuot.
Choosing Judaism: Why One Grandmother Made a Public Commitment
Last fall’s tragedy in Pittsburgh finally prompted Linda North, now known as Ruth bat Avraham v’Sarah, to set a date for her conversion to Judaism.
When Your Child Teaches You About Revelation
Life can strip our ability to stand in awe. When the rent is due, the refrigerator is bare, relationships run us ragged, we struggle to find space for the extraordinary.
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.