by Webmaster | Jun 22, 2015 | Identity
This piece is being published on the yahrzeit of Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi of blessed memory, may his teachings endure. It begins like an old Hasidic story. A reluctant maskil (a defender of the rational reform of Judaism, an “enlightener”) is strong-armed into...
by Webmaster | Jun 15, 2015 | Identity
“Hey Buddy!” Whenever I hear that term, so common coming from the lips of dads in my generation, I invariably pause to reflect on the Fifth Commandment which instructs children to honor their parents (“kibbud av va-em”). Will a child whose father calls him (or, almost...
by Webmaster | Jun 8, 2015 | Identity
I’m a convert. I converted. I wasn’t “BORN” Jewish, whatever the heck that means. The way I look — my golden complexion and the abundance of ringlet curls on my head — combined with the difference in my upbringing have always challenged my place in society and even in...
by Webmaster | Jun 1, 2015 | Identity
Recently at work, one of my co-workers, who is a Chinese originally from Taiwan, stopped by my desk to ask me a question. He spotted the calendar on my desk. “You have a Jewish calendar,” he said. “Yes?” I replied. “A Jewish calendar?” he asked again. “I am Jewish,” I...
by Webmaster | May 27, 2015 | Identity
It’s the end of the summer, and my children are educating me about Jewish pirates. “They lived in the Caribbean in the 16th and 17th centuries,” my teenage daughter insists. “Hebrew was their secret language, because no one else around them spoke it.” “And,” my...
by Webmaster | May 18, 2015 | Identity
1 in 6 contemporary Jews are new to Judaism. How are we supposed to welcome these converts? Rabbi Juan Mejia, a convert himself, provides a modern reading of the biblical story of Ruth to find some guidance. An uneasy minyan stands at the gates of Bethlehem. The sun...
