by Jill Maidhof ‘Tis the season to be jolly! Oops—that’s not a Jewish tradition. We’re deep thinkers, stiff-necked, and darkly humorous. None of those sound like jolly. Fortunately, it’s also a time to be grateful, and that we can do. Fortunately, it’s also a time to be grateful, and that we can do. In fact, Continue Reading »
By Nina Fondiller Woldin I found it challenging to celebrate Thanksgiving during this precarious time of war and antisemitism. While I have many blessings in my life, I strongly feel the pain of our collective condition, and it was difficult for me to enjoy what I have. So I went to my go-to sage, Rabbi Continue Reading »
by Audrey Lichter We hear a lot said today about “Moral Clarity” or the lack thereof. I have been thinking about this and wonder if it still means anything. Everyone, it seems, believes that their perspective is the true embodiment of moral clarity. Our world is turned upside down, when after the savage attack on Continue Reading »
by Michalee Merritt I am sitting here on a cold Monday morning staring at my computer screen thinking, What Now? I am trying to think about happy things, positive things. I do have a lot of good going on in my house. My daughter is getting married, so there is a wedding to plan. My Continue Reading »
by Nina Fondiller Woldin It’s not unusual in the sailing community for people who don’t know each other to begin talking, just because they pass on the dock. But it is unusual for them to tell you out of the blue, when they have never met you before, that their parents were Holocaust survivors. I Continue Reading »
by Rabbi Debra Smith This hopeful prayer is dedicated to all those seeking comfort in a world that needs comforting: Eternal One, More than ever I Sense Your Presence. You are there In my prayers, in my songs , In my joy, in my trials. I reach out to You. I meet You in conversation. Continue Reading »
by Jill Maidhof I used to awaken to my radio every morning. I’d lay in bed and find out what happened in the world while I was snoozing, and when I felt suitably informed I’d hop up and brush my teeth. Now I lay in bed and cherish the silence. I know that the minute I Continue Reading »
By Nina Fondiller Woldin Last week, Jewish communities everywhere were shaken to the core. Like many, I found myself unable to enjoy my many blessings, reminding me of the first lines of Yehudah Halevi’s* famous poem, My Heart is in the East: My heart is in the east, and I in the uttermost west– How Continue Reading »
by Michalee Merritt I had planned to write a blog today about a wonderful weekend celebrating Simchat Torah. But I am having trouble writing about it in light of what is happening in Israel. My synagogue is undergoing a Torah restoration project and we had a major event planned for the holiday. It still went Continue Reading »
by Rabbi Debra Smith The Gates don’t truly close until the eighth day of Sukkot, right before Shemini Atzeret. The mystical book the Zohar teaches that, while the judgment for the new year is sealed on Yom Kippur, it is not delivered until the end of Sukkot, giving us an extra measure of time to lessen the Continue Reading »
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