Blog

Thriving Like Isaac

Rabbi Deborah Goldmann
March 29, 2023
Living most of my life in a hearing world – as a not-fully hearing person – has been my “normal” living experience. I don’t know any other way of being. I suspect there is a different way of living because everyone around me tells me so – they imagine that my life must be so hard, how I must cope (what are my choices??). At one point, I tried to connect to the Deaf community. Between not being fluent in American Sign Language and being able to live in the hearing world, I didn’t feel welcome – although I learned a lot about myself as a less-than-fully-hearing person in a hearing world. A few years ago, when I went from hard of hearing to deaf, I decided that I would be just that, “deaf” without the capital “D”. I am now a deaf person living in a hearing world (as opposed to a Deaf person with connections to the Deaf community).

Dayenu: The Power of Enough-ness

Crystal Hill
March 27, 2023
Last year was my first time celebrating Passover and one of the first times I sang with the congregational choir. One of the songs we performed for the seder was "Dayenu." The choir director explained during practice that in Hebrew, "dayenu" means "enough." I loved the melody of the song and found myself humming the tune as I prepared for Passover.

The Importance of Storytelling

Rabbi Maya Y. Glasser
March 14, 2023
The Jewish people love to share stories, as memory is a central Jewish value. We cannot forget what has happened to us because we must share it with future generations. The past is one of our best learning tools.

Siman Tov U’Mazal Tov: Astrology and Judaism

Crystal Hill
March 9, 2023
Judaism's relationship with astrology is one that has many twists and turns. Jewish interest in the zodiac can be traced back to the time of the Babylonian exile, which is evidenced by the fact that many of the Hebrew names of the constellations are actually Hebraicized versions of the original Assyrian names.