Sukkot: Festival of Voting Booths
Carrying the Spirit of Sukkot Into the Rest of the Year
Israel is more than what makes the headlines. It is also filled with people who will reach across the divide and give you the opportunity to be in community together.
Shabbat and the Blessing of Family
As a teenager in Flint, MI, most of my peers spent their Friday evenings at the movies with friends or at high school football games. When I told my friends why I couldn't join them, they were flabbergasted.
Jewish Summer Camp: Where Friends Become Family
In 1975, I was a little girl coming to URJ Camp Harlam,a Jewish sleepaway camp, following in my cousin’s footsteps. I hung on to her for dear life every time we passed each other in camp. Slowly I began to develop friendships with the girls in my bunk, loosening my tight grip on my cousin.
Rosh HaShanah in Lisbon: A Tale of Family and Connections
This year was the first time in a long time I wasn’t with my immediate family in Australia or my cousins in Israel to celebrate Rosh HaShanah.
Double Booked: No One Should Have to Choose Between A Healthy Family and A Job
Hanukkah Reconsidered: A Split in the Jewish Soul
I grew up loving this holiday – until I learned the dark side and felt like a kid discovering that there’s no Santa Claus. It turns out Hanukkah is, in part, a tale of Jew vs. Jew.
When It Comes to Israel, We Cannot Avoid Our Discomfort
Although we don’t vote in Israel’s elections and should not expect to, neither does the Knesset have a monopoly over the Zionist project. It belongs to all Jews.
Letting Go
Six years shall you sow your land and gather in its yield; but in the seventh you shall let it rest and lie fallow. Let the needy among your people eat of it, and what they leave let the wild beasts eat…
-Exodus 23:10-11
Reclaiming the Public Square with Hanukkah Lights
According to Rashi, we light Hanukkah candles to “publicize the miracle.” What exactly is the miracle we’re publicizing – and what’s the best way for us to do so today?