What Children Can Teach Us at Rosh HaShanah
A deep spiritual life is hard to find. While opportunities abound for spiritual connections (yoga, meditation, retreats and the like), for most of us it doesn’t come easy.
The Nudge of Selichot
After 10 weeks of swimming, biking, walking at the ocean's edge, and rationalizing that it's too hot for tennis, Saturday night Selichot services appear on my calendar as the call back from the freedom of su
Beyond Bokser: 11 Ways to Go Green on Tu BiShvat and Year-Round
Years ago, on a cold and sparkly winter afternoon, I sat with my younger sister in the living room, both of us savoring the long, dark pods of chewy bokser we had saved from our Tu BiShvat celebration at Religious Scho
It’s Hard to be a Jew at Christmas, But Even Harder on Tu BiSh’vat
It is a truth universally acknowledged that it can be difficult to be Jewish at Christmas time. It has seeped into North American cultural consciousness so thoroughly that South Park even wrote a song about it, complete with trademark expletives.
Green Kislev: A Hanukkah Conservation Challenge
Welcome to December and the Jewish month of Kislev!
There’s No “Right Way” to Celebrate the Holidays
According to Tevye from "Fiddler on the Roof," it's not the Shema that's the watchword of our faith.
It's "Tradition!"
Yes, traditions matter, but at what cost?
How Can We Deal with the So-Called "December Dilemma"?
The challenges and contradictions of being a Jew in America are never more obvious than in the month of December. Christmas is unavoidable from before Thanksgiving until well after New Year's. Every year, I wonder how much I should participate in the hoopla.
The Day Our Daughter Killed Santa: A Cautionary Tale
One day after a Girl Scout Brownie meeting, my wife received a call from an irate mom accusing our third-grader of ruining her daughter’s childhood: “Mimi announced in front of all the girls that there is no Santa Claus!” My wife apologized, but in Mimi’s defense, pointed out that sooner or later
My Hanukkiyot: They Light Up My Life
I love collecting hanukkiyot (menorahs). None is terribly expensive, but each one of the nearly 200 in my collection is unique.
This Hanukkah, Commit to Shaping a More Progressive Israel
Soon, Jews around the world will gather in our homes and our synagogues, even in public places – to light the hanukkiyah (menorah) and celebrate the festival of Hanukkah.