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 »
by Jill Maidhof Author, teacher and presenter Rabbi Joseph Telushkin once told an audience that he watches what he eats pretty carefully. At the same time, he confessed that if he were about to bite into a piece of cheesecake and someone urged him to think twice, “…all I’d be thinking is ‘how soon is this guy going Continue Reading »
by Nina Fondiller Woldin It’s the morning after Rosh Hashana, and I am driving my youngest daughter to the airport. Discussing the holiday, she reminds me about how the words to Joni Mitchell’s song Circle Game chronicle our experience. This year my family viewed the themes of the holiday on many different generational levels – from Continue Reading »
by Audrey Lichter Last night I attended the annual board meeting of our Greater Hartford Federation. The community had not gathered together in person since 2019. Although I have never been on a Federation board, I always go to the meetings to cheer on the people that give their time and passion to the needs Continue Reading »
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