How to Prevent Halloween from Overwhelming Your Family
Halloween brings me a bit of stress each year. On a very basic level, I'm just not a fan of this holiday that, in recent years, seems to have become so much bigger than ever before.
Sukkot: Festival of Voting Booths
Sukkot and the Challenge of Refugees
A young man came to a rabbi for a chat.
“I’ve bought a new car” said the young man to the rabbi.
“Congratulations,” he replied.
Carrying the Spirit of Sukkot Into the Rest of the Year
Israel is more than what makes the headlines. It is also filled with people who will reach across the divide and give you the opportunity to be in community together.
Shabbat Shelanu: Creating a Family Education Program for Today’s Families
Expanding our family education program wasn’t our original plan. However, we realized that we were only emphasizing family involvement in the lead up to B’nai Mitzvah, so we decided to seek long-term impact by expanding and aligning our program with the needs of our families.
Rosh HaShanah in Lisbon: A Tale of Family and Connections
This year was the first time in a long time I wasn’t with my immediate family in Australia or my cousins in Israel to celebrate Rosh HaShanah.
How Two Canadians Came to Understand and Celebrate American Thanksgiving
As Canadian clergy working in a Reform congregation in New Jersey, we
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.
When It Comes to Israel, We Cannot Avoid Our Discomfort
Although we don’t vote in Israel’s elections and should not expect to, neither does the Knesset have a monopoly over the Zionist project. It belongs to all Jews.