by Tani Prell | Jul 2, 2025 | Identity, Jewish Ritual, Teens
ב״ה Definitions for the italicized Hebrew and Yiddish terms and phrases can be found at the bottom of this piece. Last fall we celebrated the bar mitzvah of our son Alter, the first in our immediate family in 100 years. The last bar mitzvah was celebrated in Russia...
by Tani Prell | Mar 17, 2025 | Holidays, Identity, Jewish Ritual
For people who may have never heard of it or celebrated, what is Nowruz? Nowruz (pronounced no + ruz) means a new day. It’s the Persian New Year! Nowruz is a festival that is celebrated on the first day of spring, on March 21, when the day and night are equal in...
by Tani Prell | Mar 2, 2025 | Arts & Culture, Featured Story, Identity, Jewish Ritual, Recipes
Many of us have faced difficulties during the past year. Community is more important now than it has ever been. For my part, I discovered that I was interacting with Ethiopian Jews, Israelis, other Jews of color, and the larger Jewish community of color (JOC). Because...
by Tani Prell | Dec 16, 2024 | Arts & Culture, Featured Story, Holidays, Identity, Jewish Ritual
“As the winter holidays approach, Reboot Studios presents a new way to celebrate with Erev Yalda, a reimagining of the ancient Persian winter solstice celebration, Yalda. The new ritual blends Yalda with the themes of Hanukkah, through an Iranian-Jewish lens....
by Tani Prell | Oct 15, 2024 | Identity, Jewish Ritual
Photo credit: Isaac Wamani Rabbi Shoshana Nambi is the Assistant Rabbi at Congregation Beth Am in Los Altos Hills, CA. A native of Eastern Uganda, she grew up in Uganda’s Abayudaya Jewish community. Rabbi Nambi is the author of The Very Best Sukkah, about the...
by Tani Prell | May 23, 2024 | Identity, Jewish Ritual, Teens
At the time of my bat mitzvah, my party felt like a collision of all the different parts of my identity. It did not feel like a celebration or a coming of age. I was too young to take a step back and appreciate the beauty of the supernova. I was intoxicated by the...
