Displaying 51 - 60 of 138
Trench Art
Dear Jonathan, Two great uncles of mine fought in then Palestine during WWI and brought back pieces of trench art as souvenirs. I'd love to know more about them.
Crystal Plates
My husband bought these crystal plates from an acquaintance whose family background is not Jewish and who had brought them from Czechoslovakia shortly after the Second World War (she had been storing them in her attic).
Polish Menorah
Dear Jonathan: My father purchased this menorah in the mid-1940s at a Zionist Organization of America gathering in New York City. Could shed any light on its origins and/or value?
Cast Metal Clock
Dear Jonathan, I've inherited a strange sort of Jewish cast metal clock that's nearly 6 inches in height, about which I know nothing, except that it might have belonged to my grandfather.
Lessons in the Mirror
Late in the evening of September 28, 2009, following very introspective and rewarding Yom Kippur services at Congregation Ohabai Shalom in Nashville, I took a hot shower and then stood, wrapped in a towel, in front of the bathroom mirror. As I brushed my teeth, I reflected on my experience of this most prayerful of days, when Jews throughout the world come to grips with their mistakes and seek atonement.
These Days of Awe
It's the children, at first, that inspire awe, the infants now walking, the toddlers talking, the grade schoolers freshly combed and pressed, the high schoolers immense, the college students all but unrecognizable in their newfound sophistication. The brief span of twelve months has metamorphosed them all.
Wrestling with Forgiveness
It is very hard to say you are sorry – and even harder to really mean it. It is not any easier to truly forgive.
Sounds of Kol Nidrei
The melody that stirs the heart of Ashkenazic Jews is of unknown origin, but is part of a body of music known as "MiSinai melodies" that emerged in Germany between the 11th and 15th centuries.
When God is Trivialized
Let’s be honest: Jews have trouble talking about God. God-sentences do not flow trippingly off Jewish lips.
Cultivating Love
What is love? The word is used in so many ways, and it is so fundamental to Judaism, yet its meaning is so elusive that it is often difficult to know what it actually means to say that you love someone.