by Webmaster | Jun 29, 2015 | Identity
Week after week, I light two small candles. I move behind my children and put one hand on each of their heads and I begin my prayer: Y’varech’cha Adonai V’yishmerecha. I ask that they be blessed and kept safe, favored and granted peace. I kiss each child on the...
by Webmaster | Jun 24, 2015 | Identity
For they (the teachings) are our life source, and what lengthen our days, and so we meditate on them day and night.” — Siddur This past week I arrived at Camp Yavneh in New Hampshire. It is my first time at a summer camp. Not knowing anyone or what to expect, I was...
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...
