Building Sukkot for Ourselves and Others
This Sukkot, Fostering Interfaith Relations in Israel
"At the edge of a valley so quiet and pretty stands a five story building far away from the city."
Jews Without Borders: My Multicultural Jewish Family
"Knock, knock."
"Who's there?"
"Russia."
"Russia who?"
"Russia Shana."
As my kids tell me this joke, I realize my mother's curse has come true: I have children "just like me."
MASA: A Journey to Family Engagement
Twenty Becomes One: Seeing Our Congregations as Family, Especially During Hardship
Fragility and Strength: A Litany of Hope for Sukkot
The sukkah is a symbol of fragility. We build the temporary structure each year and know that it is only meant to last for the week-long holiday. It sways in the breeze. The raindrops land inside. The animals nibble at our decor. We know it could come crashing down on us.
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.
This Year Let’s Put Food Justice at the Center of our Fall Harvest
Tricks, Treats, and Tradition: Being an American Jew on Halloween
Picture this: The setting was a dining room on the East Coast on Friday, October 31st, sometime in the late 1990s. It was dinnertime, and the father of the family was seated at the head of the table while the mother scurried back-and-forth between the kitchen and the dining room.
Rethinking the Holy Days
I’ve come to the conclusion we need to change the date of Simchat Torah. Our Jewish festivals must be re-envisioned as inspirational community gatherings of joyful spiritual Jewish celebration. Every single festival needs to be a time of great community involvement and meaning.