“Dayenu” Is the First Ad Ditty for Israel Travel
On my recent trip to Israel, I thought about our journey as the Jewish people and the power of teaching our youth through the experience of Israel travel. How can we connect a Jewish song from our exodus to meaningful Israel education?
Lessons from Bad Segeberg after 80 Years
The faces in the photo that hangs in the new synagogue in Bad Segeberg haunt me. They seared themselves into my brain the first time I saw it, and they do not let go.
What were these 26 souls thinking when – in hiding – they celebrated Purim in 1936? Their eyes and their smiles betray fear, and their resolve to celebrate the festival with joy.
The Courage to Be a Reform Jew
I must be honest. Purim is not my favorite holiday. Truth is, I was never a big costume person. Probably a therapist’s delight!
Nonetheless, I was a “good” mom and put aside my own mishagas (craziness) and helped my daughters with Purim costumes and parades so that we made it through enough years dressing up as characters from the story. However, it wasn't too long before they both expressed a similar “love” for costumes and parades and so Purim became a minor holiday in our house.
On the Third Day, God Created Weed
For 30 years, I was a congregational rabbi. Today, my family and I own and operate Washington, D.C.’s largest medical marijuana dispensary, where we see hundreds of people each week.
What a long, strange trip it has been.
Join Us for a Webinar on Voter Engagement and Immigration Reform
There is perhaps no more important form of civic engagement than voting. The vote is the cornerstone of our democracy, ensuring that those who govern are chosen by and beholden to the people.
Repairing The World Through Hope
Eric Doppelt and his Aunt Jane representing Team Jane.
"Hope: Sometimes that's all you have when you have nothing else. If you have it, you have everything." ~ Unknown
Taking Transformation Home
Having chaperoned my first trip to a L’Taken seminar last year, I wanted nothing more than to bottle up the experience and take it home to Temple
Purim: It's More than Just a Carnival
I remember the Purim celebrations of my youth: homemade cardboard crowns wrapped in aluminum foil; groggers fashioned from Styrofoam cups, dried beans, and masking tape; my brothers dressed in bathrobes, beards and mustaches sketched on their faces. As in many other congregations, our Purim carnival was run by the youth group as a fundraiser, and when I reached high school, I became a planner instead of a participant. We planned games and activities that sounded like fun to us teenagers and would be enjoyed by the religious school kids who were our target audience. Neither preschool children nor their parents were part of the planning equation.
What Purim Can Teach Us about Anti-Semitism
Later this month, we will read and commemorate the story of Purim and celebrate Esther’s bravery with revelry and joy.
From Crush to Love: A Different Approach to Israel Education
How do we teach the full story while fostering a love for our homeland? I learned about Israel in a “crush-like” way, as a “perfect Israel,” a place where everything was good, right and just. I was not introduced to the “real” Israel, a place with imperfections. The Israel as “crush” approach worked for me. Ultimately, I moved from crush on to deep love with to moving to Israel.