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Rosh HaShanah: Family Activities
Here are some fun Rosh HaShanah-related blessings, rituals crafts and activities for your family to welcome the new year.
Sukkot, Diversity, and Unity: How Each of Us is Like the Four Species
While all Jewish holidays serve as great opportunities to practice audacious hospitality, Sukkot has always stood out to me as the most audaciously hospitable of Jewish holidays.
Eight Ways to Make Every Night of Hanukkah Shine
Here are eight wonderful things about Hanukkah, one for each night, that can enhance our celebrations of this beloved holiday.
What’s Different about High Holidays Challah?
In Pirkei Avot, Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah taught, “If there is no bread, there is no Torah; and if there is no Torah, there is no bread.” I love these words. They echo in my mind when I partake in two of my favorite almost daily activities, the study of Torah and the baking bread. On the holidays, these two passions intersect, as they have for generations of Jews, when I shape challah. The traditional shapes for challot (plural) can be Torah study on our very festival tables.
10 Cozy, Cinnamon-Centric Recipes with a Jewish Twist
What’s your autumn flavor of choice? Is it spiced pumpkin, or maybe seasonal apples? How about cozy cinnamon? Here are 10 Jewishly inspired, easy to make, tried-and-true recipes featuring cinnamon that you’re going to love.
Ushpizin: Welcoming Seven Holy Guests of Social Justice Work
At Sukkot, Jewish tradition encourages us to welcome seven holy guests into our sukkot, one for each night of the week. In a modern variation to this custom, each night can be connected to a related social action theme.
Teaching Children about Reducing Waste (Bal Tashchit)
Yasmin must hold her nose to wade through the garbage piling up outside the Plony house. Though she turns off the faucet and begs Momma Plony not to use extra paper towels, it takes a magical Sparks-inspired flood to sort out the real trash from the recyclables.
Teaching Children about Courage (Ometz Lev)
Scaredy spark Gabi must cross a narrow bridge to play on the beckoning bouncy cloud. During the family campout in a stormy back yard, Mama Plony confronts a clanky robot from outer space. They both learn that “Courage isn’t about not being afraid. It's about doing things even though we’re afraid.”
Teaching Children about Peace in the Home (Shalom Bayit)
Ben and Lila fight over their favorite bath towel, cup and everything else. Papa Plony is so distracted by playing his banjo that he forgot to make the challah that he promised Mama. Even Gabi and Rafi argue over who gets to practice what on their small cloud. We’ve all been there. Fortunately, some howling monkeys join the chaos to help teach about compromise and taking turns.
Preparing for the Days of Awe - Emerging Color Connections
As part of your journey in preparing for the High Holidays, also known as the Days of Awe, here’s an activity that will engage you in finding new ways to make discoveries, and extend understanding beyond verbal and written modalities into the language of texture, rhythm, color, movement and sound.