A Familiar Conversation with a Family Twist
It's a conversation I had had hundreds of times in my 44 years as a Jewish educator. However, this time was different: It was with my son.
New Year, Take Two: A Second Chance for a Conscious Year Ahead
Creating Terrific Photo Opps, One Family at a Time
“I have a son with special needs. I would love to feel like there might be a place for him at Camp Harlam.” The words stood out to me on the page as if they were wrapped in neon lights.
Visiting When Someone in the Family is Ill
When we visit the sick, it is our job to be present, kind, and ready to listen, all of which can be more challenging if the person we are visiting is part of our family.
How One Jewish Author Wrote a Happier Ending for Her Family
Author Carol Ascher speaks of her new novel as part of a trilogy with her memoir and an earlier novel. All three, she says, reflect a struggle to understand her background as the eldest daughter of Jewish refugees who fled the Nazi regime.
This New Documentary Tells the Story of an Israeli Trans Woman and Her Family
The film chronicles the challenges that Amit, her former wife Galit, and their children endured during Amit’s gender transition.
How Midrash and Commentary Help Us Read Between the Lines
As Rosh HaShanah approached last year, I was living in southwestern China, where I celebrated by eating apples and explaining the Jewish New Year to my Chinese roommate.
How a DNA Test and a Dream Led Me to Judaism
I hired an ancestral DNA expert to analyze my Jewish blood but, frustrated with my demands for details, he sent a curt email I will never forget: “You’re either Jewish or you’re not,” he wrote. Maybe this search was as much about my faith as it was about my heritage. Maybe I really was a Jew at heart, too.
How Sea Turtles Taught Children about Repairing the World
After my daughter took a sea turtle rescue and conservation tour last summer, she came home with one takeaway: “Mom, the plastic straws have got to go!”