by Webmaster | Sep 15, 2020 | Holidays, Identity, Jewish Ritual
Rosh Hashanah is one of my favorite holidays. It’s a time when we can block out all outside forces, be introspective and completely and brutally honest with ourselves, strip ourselves of all vanity and self-consciousness. Rosh Hashanah is about second (and third and...
by Webmaster | Sep 11, 2020 | Identity, Jewish Ritual
For most of my life, I’ve been surrounded by Jewish people. I was born in Libreville, the capital of Gabon, in Central Africa, and moved to France at age 10. My best friend growing up in France, who remains my best friend to this day, is Jewish. Later, I was in a...
by Webmaster | Mar 18, 2020 | Identity, Jewish Ritual
The following are excerpts from an online conversation entitled “Jews in the Digital Shtetl” with Rabbi Juan Mejía, the Southwest regional director at Be’chol Lashon. The conversation was organized by Judaism Unbound and the Oshman Family JCC in Palo Alto, CA. You can...
by Webmaster | Mar 6, 2020 | Identity, Jewish Ritual
To the best of her knowledge, Rabbi Tarlan Rabizadeh is the first Persian-speaking woman, born to two Iranian parents, to become a rabbi—certainly the first in the Reform movement. She grew up in the Persian Jewish community in Los Angeles, often referred to as...
by Webmaster | Sep 23, 2019 | Identity, Jewish Ritual
It’s Friday night and I’m standing in the glass vestibule at Congregation Shaare Emeth. A locked set of doors is in front of me, another set of doors leading to the lobby are behind me. I hold a walkie talkie. I am the first line of defense, but more importantly, the...
by Webmaster | Nov 14, 2018 | Identity, Jewish Ritual
Black hair is a contentious and highly personal topic. Whether we address its beauty and versatility or mock its propensity to stand out, the question remains: What do you do with it? The black hair question was never more spiritually apparent to me than in the days...
