How To Be The Perfect Weekend Guest
At my vacation home community, the conversation on the tennis court most Mondays centers on the same topic – weekend guests. Everyone has something to say about the guests who have left, those who are coming, and the ones still in residence.
Autism, Teens and Torah - Just Another Shabbat
One recent Shabbat, on the anniversary of his bar mitzvah, a young man with autism chanted Torah at our erev Shabbat service. I've been thinking about it since, and was genuinely moved by the whole experience.
Even the Cats Know it is Shabbat in Jerusalem
Jerusalem is overrun with stray cats. Most of the week, they hang out on sidewalks and hide under parked cars, but on Shabbat they lounge in the middle of the street, baking in their patches of sunlight, daring you to move them or for a car to disturb their well-deserved nap.
Summertime Slowdown for Shabbat
Parashat D’varim: Escaping my Comfort Zone
Eventually, I felt as if The Holy Blessed One had nudged me out of my rest, telling me that I’d stayed there long enough: that my destiny as a Jew awaited me.
A Shabbat Picnic Showed Me Jerusalem’s Diversity
On a recent Shabbat, I spent the time with friends in the park. Within a few steps of our blanket, we watched people from every corner of Jerusalem spend the afternoon.
What Being a Practicing Reform Jew Means to Me
When an acquaintance asked me: “Are you a practicing Jew?” I answered “Yes,” but the question got me thinking about what it means to be a practicing Jew.
Hope for Independence and Peace for All
On Shabbat a group from Physicians for Human Rights Israel, the only Israeli non-profit allowed to enter Gaza, goes to the West Bank to offer a mobile medical clinic.