Galilee Diary: Syzygy
When I behold Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and stars that You set in place, what is man that You have been mindful of him, mortal man that You have taken note of him? -Psalms 8:4-5
Jews Eating Well - Not as Obvious as it May Seem!
Galilee Diary: Sunflowers
The sea of grain is waving
The song of the flock rings out
This is myland and its fields
This is the Jezreel Valley
May my land be blessedand praised
From Bet Alfa to Nahalal.
-from "The Song of theValley," Nathan Alterman, 1935
Israel, Up Close and Personal
Shortly after arriving in Israel a few weeks back, I had the privilege of welcoming a few busloads of our teens to Jerusalem.
Galilee Diary: Access
You shall not insult the deaf, or place a stumbling block before the blind. You shall fear your God: I am the Lord. -Leviticus 19:14
A Shabbat to Remember, Part 1: Playing Jewish Geography in South Africa
From mid-May to mid-June, good fortune and hard work granted me three weeks in South Africa on my school's tab. I am a third year John V. Lombardi Scholar at the University of Florida and one of the perks of the four-year merit scholarship is travels and studies abroad each summer.
A Shabbat to Remember, Part 2: Making Jewish Connections Across the Globe
Tyler Benjamin, a third year John V. Lombardi Scholar at the University of Florida, just returned from a three-week study opportunity in South Africa.
Observing Tisha B'Av: Finding Meaning as a Reform Jew
My first summer at URJ Camp Harlam I was given the task of leading a service for Tisha B'Av. I grabbed a Gates of Prayer out of the camp sifriyah (library) and simply followed its lead.
Finding My Neshama's Voice
In the early '80s, in New Jersey, we "converted" from Conservative to Reform Judaism (a story in itself) and started going to Anshe Emeth Memorial Temple in New Brunswick.
Feeling Jewish
When I decided to convert I wondered often, "Would I ever really feel Jewish?" I never could have anticipated that the death of my father, who was neither religious nor Jewish, would be the event that would take me there.