How to Tie Tzizit Together as a Family
In the midst of the chaos of planning a bat mitzvah, carving out time to sit together as a family and learn a new ritual together can be a powerful and memorable experience for all involved.
New Study Guides, Books, and Musical Resources Among Reform Movement Offerings for the High Holy Days
A wealth of books, music, and on-line articles are now available to help families through the flurry of getting ready for the High Holy Days season.
How to Say “Yes, and” to Inclusion
We know it’s important – and invaluable – to create a seat in the classroom for every child. But saying is easier than doing. How can we use the rules of improv to make inclusion happen in our congregations?
Taking Care of One Another is a Core Jewish Value
If our communal life is not available for all who want to participate, we are failing to fulfill a basic mitzvah (commandment) – and we’re also missing out on an essential part of our sacred community.
How to Find Your Voice – and Why it Matters
Within our congregations are individuals who live with disabilities, as well as family members and friends and people who support people with disabilities. As Jewish leaders, we simply cannot ignore a fifth of our community or treat them as marginal members.
Get Out and Vote in 2016
The Iowa and New Hampshire caucuses earlier this month marked the official start of the 2016 election cycle. Over the coming months, millions of Americans will take to the polls to exercise their constitutional right to determine who represents them at all levels of government.
JDAIM Inspires Action and Commitment to Inclusion
I admit that I get quite a thrill when I hear about all of the events and programs that are scheduled in North America during Jewish Disability Awareness and Inclusion Month (JDAIM)
Finding Holiness in the Rare Leopard as well as the Common Bird
"I hope you are excited for the birds!" our guide said to us.
We had just arrived in Tanzania for a safari, and suddenly, I was concerned that we had been assigned to the wrong jeep. "Oh, we're not birdwatchers," I explained. "We came for the regular safari — lions, leopards, rhinos — that sort of thing." I was looking forward to this once-in-a-lifetime chance to see some of the rarest and most exotic animals on the planet. Leopards, for example, are famously difficult to spot, and the black rhino is so endangered that there are thought to be only about 5,000 left on the planet.
"But we like birds, too," my husband assured the guide. "We're excited to see them." The guide nodded in approval. "Some people tell me, 'Nicholas, we came all this way for the rhinos and leopards! Don't waste our time with all these birds!' "
The next day I got my first glimpse at why people might be excited for the winged creatures when Nicholas showed us what was, perhaps, the most beautiful bird I've ever seen up close. The feathers on its back were the colors of a peacock, iridescent blue and teal and navy. It was tiny — the size of a small songbird with a belly like a robin, a rich orangey-red, and bright white eyes against a black head. "He's beautiful," I said. "Suberb starling!" Nicholas instructed, while I admired the colors. "Superb" really was the right word. I felt lucky that we had caught a glimpse at such a stunning, unusual being.
"A very common bird!" Nicholas exclaimed. "We will see many of them!"
And so we did. In addition to a few gorgeous leopards, one spectacular rhino walking in the distance, and a week's worth of other exotic wildlife, we saw superb starlings every day: on shrubs, on dead tree stumps, flying by our jeep, walking around every picnic area, even perched outside every bathroom that we stopped at. It was one of the most delightful surprises of the safari: I never tired of them: every single time, those birds took my breath away. Everywhere we went, their presence ensured that there was beauty.
Beautiful, colorful, and rare things are the subject of this week's Torah portion, Parashat Vayak'heil, which continues the Book of Exodus' long description of the building of the Tabernacle. The Israelites are asked to bring their most valuable belongings: precious metals, expensively dyed colorful thread, spices and oils, gemstones of every variety, even dolphin skins (Exodus 35:5-9). With all of these materials, the community's craftsmen will make the most precious of all physical spaces: a place where God will dwell in the people's midst.
Freehof's Laws: A Guide for the Perplexed During World War II
“Showing up,” Woody Allen once noted is “80 percent of life.” Fair enough, but what about the other 20 percent?