On Simchat Torah, We Turn and Turn Again
I like the symmetry of the concept of return.
I like the idea that, no matter how linear we think we are, or time is, or God is, we tend to find a way back. Even God recognizes this view: Why else create t’shuvah (repentance) before ever creating the heavens and the earth?
Waving the Flag of Egalitarianism in Israel on Simchat Torah
One of the great paradoxes of being an American Reform Jew who chose to make aliyah (move to Israel) is that the whole concept of majority and minority is turned on its head. One the one hand, as a Jew, I am culturally and ethnically now part of the majority.
Schindler’s List: Separating Truth from Fiction
What Holocaust Survivors Can Teach Us About Overcoming Trauma
7 Ideas for Observing Yom HaShoah from Home
Health and Hope: Lessons from My Parents, Who Survived the Holocaust
In this time of COVID-19, my mother will likely spend her upcoming 100th birthday sheltering at home with her caregiver. I asked her how this tsura (tragedy) is different from the time of Hitler.
A Poem for Yom HaShoah, Observed Amid a Global Heath Crisis
Today especially
i am grateful for a life to call mine
the bright sunshine
on a day we remember when millions died
Watch: On Yom HaShoah, Reform Jewish Teens Interview a Holocaust Survivor
To close out this year's observance of Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, Reform Jewish teen leaders spoke with Holocaust survivor Ralph Rehbock to hear his story and talk about finding hope in times of darkness.
From Tragedy to Celebration, We Honor the State of Israel
Do we literally read the entire Torah in one year, starting on Simchat Torah?
We read the entire Torah over a year, beginning the cycle on the same week as Simchat Torah. The Torah is divided into 54 portions – or parashiyot – and, generally, one portion is read each week on Shabbat.