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.
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?
It’s Hard to be a Jew at Christmas, But Even Harder on Tu BiSh’vat
It is a truth universally acknowledged that it can be difficult to be Jewish at Christmas time. It has seeped into North American cultural consciousness so thoroughly that South Park even wrote a song about it, complete with trademark expletives.
How PJ Library® Helped Our Congregation Engage Families with Young Children
Who Needs Shavuot?
by Rabbi Rick Schechter It’s the black sheep of the Jewish calendar—unfortunately. Shavuot, the Feast of Weeks, is a holy day often overshadowed and overlooked in the contemporary Jewish world. How could this have happened? It had such an auspicious start.
Double Booked Through the Lens of JDAM: The High Price of Autism
This post originally appeared on June 3, 2014 as part of the RAC's blog series, Double Booked: A Conversation on Working Families in the 21st Century.
A Conversation with Leonard Nimoy: The Vulcan Talks Judaism
Being a Reform Jew in Israel
I am Israeli, a Reform Jew, and still a little American after 20 years of living in Israel. I feel that I can be me as a member of Emet VeShalom, a progressive, multi-cultural, warm and welcoming congregation in Nahariya.
Breakfast with Fahim
Then Joseph said to his brothers and to his father's household…When Pharaoh summons you and asks, "What is your occupation?" You shall answer, "Your servants have been breeders of livestock from the start until now, both we and our fathers" - so that you may stay in the region of Gos
VAWA Amendment Violates First Amendment
Although the Senate passed a bipartisan version of VAWA last month that would extend protection from intimate partner violence to all victims regardless of sexual orientation, gender ide