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Traveling Our "God Journeys" at Jewish Summer Camp
Camp helps us feel closer to God.” With this sentence, I opened my dialogue with the summer leadership staff of URJ Camp Newman, a Reform Jewish sleepaway camp, at our annual retreat. As it turns out, even some of our rabbinic students felt uneasy about this language and its placement within our opening conversation.
Simultaneous Joy and Pain: The Wisdom of the Counting of the Omer
This year at our Passover seder, I experienced something deeply powerful which I had not felt in the context of Passover before.
Let the #Torah Tweets Begin!
For a people with just one God, we Jews sure do a lot of counting.
Three patriarchs, four matriarchs, six days of creation, eight nights of Hanukkah, 12 tribes, 40 years in the desert, 70 years in a life - 80 if we’re really robust. You get the picture…
Attending Tikkun Leil Shavuot for the First Time
I have never attended a Tikkun Leil Shavuot, a community gathering to study Torah all night on the holiday of Shavuot. This year, that will all change! On the evening of May 14, I plan to attend an all-night (or most-of-the-night) study session for Shavuot at my synagogue.
Reliving Sinai: Shavuot and the Tradition of Confirmation in Reform Judaism
As we approach the Festival of Shavuot this coming week, tens of thousands of American Reform Jews will be fondly recalling a milestone moment in their own personal religious lives - their confirmation ceremonies.
What I Brought: A Poem for the Last Day of the Omer
I stood on the border of my wilderness.
It beckons in silent commandment,
My feet feeling for the road
That is dusty and half hidden
Under brambles and
Desire.
Grilled Steak with Chimichurri Sauce and Orange Slices
The use of sherry vinegar, cumin, and oranges speaks volumes about the Iberian influence on the cooking of South America.
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.