Sukkot: Festival of Voting Booths
We Are Family - Sandy Relief
Celebrating December Holidays with My Interfaith, Interracial, Multicultural Family
I get asked a lot if I’m “half.” Often, people are referring to my mixed Caucasian and Asian American heritage, their curiosity sparked by my Korean last name on my Jewish business card or by whatever other seeming tip arises on a given day.
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?
We're a Multiracial Jewish Family; We Don't Have the Answers, but Here’s a Place to Start
Including Jews of Color or multiracial families for the point of “checking it off the list” needs to bite the dust. Multiracial families do not want to be ignored, but neither do they want to be seen as a way to achieve some sort of board directive
Inspired 5781: More Art, More Awe
I grew up going to services. A lot of services. I was adept at counting the ceiling tiles, reaching into the thousands as my grasp of numbers grew more sophisticated. The melodies became part of my life soundtrack; I hummed them as my mind wandered during the rabbi’s sermon.
60 Years a Rabbi: What I Learned from My Rabbinic Mentors
Six decades have not diminished my appreciation of the rabbinic mentors who symbolically escorted me to rabbinical school and upon whose shoulders I stand.
Hanukkah: From Battleground to Festival of Lights
The Hebrew word Hanukkah means “dedication” and refers to the joyous eight-day celebration through which Jews commemorate the victory of the Maccabees over the armies of Syria in 165 B.C.E. and the subsequent liberation and “rededication” of the Temple in Jerusalem.
Thoughts of Hanukkah Applesauce and a Bygone Era
Beyond the rusty orange leaves, the sky hugging the orchard flourished in pastel blue – a hue that surprisingly didn’t define my mood while stretched out upon the grass, head nestled in interlocked palms that sweet October day.