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Habari Gani? How My Family is Melding Kwanzaa and Hanukkah Customs
As we each shared some favorite holiday memories, my partner asked, “So what does each candle of Hanukkah symbolize?” Puzzled, I asked him to explain what he meant. “You know, like for Kwanzaa.”
Can Jews Get Married on Shabbat?
For centuries, Jewish custom has prohibited marriages at specific dates and times during the Jewish year.
Teach (and Practice) a New Jewish Value Each Night of Hanukkah
Assign a different Jewish value each one day of Hanukkah and plan appropriate activities for your family. The idea of activities is not simply doing for doing’s sake, but doing for the sake of learning. Be sure to reflect and talk afterward!
How to Use the URJ Reflection Tool
We recently introduced the URJ Reflection Project, a tool for the High Holidays that can be found at reflect.reformjudaism.org. Here, we share suggestions of how to use its many ideas with your congregation.
How to Turn Your Home into a Sanctuary for the High Holidays
Like our ancestors before us, we must again bring worship “inside” and create a sacred space at home while we are in front of our computers.
How to Get into the High Holidays State of Mind
It's a challenge and necessity, especially during this pandemic, to set boundaries between work time and family or personal time, between home office and home. How do we do that, emotionally?
How a Day of Rest Can Save Your Life
Not in her wildest dreams, could Marilyn Paul have imagined that she would ever take a day off every week to calm her soul, and write a book about it. Learn her story.
The Shabbat Spice: Why Friday Night Dinner Tastes So Much Better
One day, my daughter walked into the house after attending preschool.
“What’s wrong?” she asked incredulously.
“Why?” I responded, “Is something wrong?”
“Well,” my very bright 3-year-old answered, “the house smells like Shabbat and I know that today is not Shabbat.”
Why Do We Light Two Candles at the Beginning of Shabbat?
The traditional practice is to light two candles on Shabbat.
How Fair Trade Gelt Embodies Hanukkah's Message
The complex flavor profiles of sumptuous chocolate have finally made it to Hanukkah gelt (traditionally coins given as Hanukkah gifts, but used here to describe foil-wrapped chocolate coins associated with the holiday).