Sukkot: Festival of Voting Booths
Colleagues, friends and family gather to remember Rabbi David J. Forman
Finding My Chosen Family
I pulled up to the right home, parked the car, unbuckled my 1-year old son from his car seat and walked across the front yard. As I approached, I noticed a blonde woman with curly hair, a large green turtle swimming pool, and a toddler.
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?
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.
This Yom Kippur, Let Your Emotions Serve as "Radical Blessings"
22,202 CE: A Year With No Rosh HaShanah
Soon, Jews around the world will celebrate the beginning of the Jewish new year, 5781, and many of us will do so not from our synagogues as usual, but rather from our homes, looking into our computer sc
Saperstein: Recent Spate of Anti-Semitic Incidents Prompts Alarm
"We are deeply disturbed by the recent violent anti-Semitic and anti-Israel uprisings. Over the weekend, rioters, wielding bats and chairs, tried to break into the Don Isaac Abravanel synagogue in Paris while worshippers were blocked inside. In Los Angeles' Westwood neighborhood, a peaceful demonstration was violently disrupted by agitators, leading to shots being fired. In Frankfurt, a local synagogue was attacked as an anti-Israel rally turned violent. In Bastille Square, demonstrators held signs that read 'Death to Jews.'