Growing Up is Hard to Do
My fiancée and I recently joined a congregation about a block from our home. We went to the new member Shabbat, were called by the rabbi, welcomed by members and Abby (my future bride) was called this morning to read an aliyah on Rosh HaShanah.
Thoughts From My First Selichot Service
I came to the 11 pm Selichot Service at Beth Emeth in Wilmington, Delaware on Saturday night at the suggestion of Rabbi Grumbacher during Torah study. I came frankly, out of curiosity and to see if I could stay awake at that
The Immigration Stigma's Got to Go
Emily Schwartz is an intern at the Religious Action Center and a senior at The George Washington University.
The Relationship Between Prayer and Your Imagination
When the words of liturgy are taken too literally, the sacred power of prayer is often lost. In his latest book, Rabbi Lawrence A. Hoffman offers a way worshipers can transcend the limitations imposed by language.
Glimpsing the Jerusalem Above
When in Jerusalem, I try to tap into both its earthly and ethereal realms – the Jerusalem below (Yerushalayim lamata) and the Jerusalem above (Yerushalayim lamala).
1938 Home Movie Bears Witness to a Lost Jewish Community
How Does Israel’s National Character Shape Our World?
If you don’t believe that one can speak of “a national character” or “the Israeli mind,” Alon Gratch’s provocative new book The Israeli Mind: How the Israeli National Character Shapes Our World
Standing Tall at Selichot
My mother and father were just about the same height, but somehow she always seemed taller. Maybe it was the shoes or maybe the way she carried herself in a proud but not superior Boston kind of manner.
Darkened Skies, Blue Skies: A September 11th Reflection
It was a beautiful August morning, the temperature a comfortable 70 degrees. I was riding on my favorite flat, a road that extends for miles along the shoreline. My legs felt strong, and despite the gusting head wind, I was setting a fast pace.