Galilee Diary: Exile?
I recently had the privilege of attending the Biennial Assembly of the Union for Reform Judaism in Washington DC, as a representative of the HUC Jerusalem faculty. It was a fascinating experience and there were many moving moments and interesting conversations (and it was fun to meet in per
Becoming a Jewish Family
“So, how many children do you want?” Not an unusual question for a man to ask his girlfriend when he is beginning to think about a future with her. However, when I heard this question, it came from the cute, industrious Israeli I had been dating for about six months and I actually lau
Cooking for Hanukkah
A brief history of the food traditions of Hanukkah from across the Diaspora.
Oy Tannenbaum!
It was over brunch on our fourth date when I told him, "This can't go anywhere...I’m Jewish and you’re not." After years of Jewish camp, Hebrew school and lectures from my parents, I was fairly certain that the eleventh commandment was “Thou shalt meet a nice Jewish boy, get married and have beau
Al HaNissim (For the Miracles)
One of the Hanukkah songs we sing begins with the words, al hanissim (for the miracles), and thanks God for all the miracles performed for our fathers, in those days, in this season (the last referring to the Hanukkah season).
Galilee Diary: Health care
by Marc Rosenstein
(Originally published in Ten Minutes of Torah and Galilee Diary)
Galilee Diary: Torah for the masses
(Originally published in Ten Minutes of Torah and Galilee Diary)
Galilee Diary: Values collide
We hold that the State of Israel was not permitted, by law, to allocate State land to the Jewish Agency for the purpose of establishing the communal settlement of Katzir on the basis of discrimination between Jews and non-Jews.
-Israel Supreme Court decision, March 8, 2000
Galilee Diary: Rainy day
Progressive Judaism: the Un-"official" Alternative
When my husband and I visited Vienna several times in the 1990s, the gemeinde (official Jewish community) would not publish the schedule of services at the Progressive Congregation Or Chadasch in its communal newspaper or even allow the congregation to buy an ad.