For Yom HaShoah: A Journey of Return and a Search for Bones
On Yom HaShoah, which falls on April 28, I will remember the six million Jews who died in the Holocaust – and I will be thinking about a little town in the northeast corner of Lithuania, and a white-haired man searching for a
Giving Meaning to Holocaust Remembrance
Much ink has been spilled since the release of the Pew Research Center survey on Jewish identity in the United States.
Yom HaShoah: A Call for Memory that Animates Action
Zachor. A powerful imperative to remember. An anthem in opposition to forgetting. A symbol of the Jewish approach to history: zachor, remember, remember as if you experienced it yourself.
To Honor, To Bless, To Name
Recently I read about a newly published book that lists every single one of the six million people killed during the Holocaust.
Gender Expression isn’t a Purim Costume
On Purim, many people will cross-dress and dress up as someone of a different gender. This year, rethink it.
The Adult Issues - and Lessons - of Purim
During the 40 years that I served as a congregational rabbi, Purim evolved from a pleasant celebration into what has become, in my view, almost a third High Holiday.
Unplugging to Connect to the Outside World, Jewishly and Otherwise
There’s an unavoidable irony inherent in tabling on a college campus for the National Day of Unplugging: namely, the majority of students who ignore me as they pass me by with headphones in their ears and glowing smartphones before their eyes.
To This Moment: A Poem about Joy
On the day before Purim, in the Hebrew month of Adar, Jewish musician Neshama Carlebach posted the following on Facebook:
Green Eggs and Hamantaschen: Creative Purim Gift Bags Bring a Community Together
Purim at Or Chadash, in Flemington, N.J., includes many of the usual traditions: putting on a Purim spiel (play), using boxes of pasta as gragers, baking hamantaschen with our students, reading the Megillah, and hosting a spectacular carnival that features Esther’s Salon, Mordecai’s March Madness, a photo booth, and plenty of prizes and food.