by Shekhiynah Larks | Feb 3, 2015 | Identity, Jewish Ritual
L’chaim, to life, but to celebrate without knowing, would merely divert those from seeing my true being. You see, what you see is nothing short of brilliance, of strength, of success and triumph. But that is something that took decades to discover. My entire life has...
by Shekhiynah Larks | Jan 28, 2015 | Identity, Jewish Ritual
“He (Moses) said: “If you will listen diligently to the voice of HaShem, your God, and you will do what is just in His eyes, and you will give ear to His commandments and observe all His statues, then any of the diseases that I placed upon Egypt, I will not place upon...
by Shekhiynah Larks | Dec 31, 2014 | Identity
Before attaining my Master of Social Work, I had the honor of helping many sick people live out their final months comfortable in hospice. Clients passed away, loved ones wailed as the coffin is lowered, and me, the social work intern, was left to support, love,...
by Shekhiynah Larks | Dec 15, 2014 | Holidays, Identity
More than anything Nalugya Rehema wanted to be a mother. She was very happy when she got pregnant, but she lost the baby. She became pregnant again, but again she lost the baby. Five times she became pregnant, five times she lost the baby. She went to the local...
by Shekhiynah Larks | Aug 26, 2014 | Arts & Culture, Identity, Jewish Ritual
Ladino first cast its magic spell on me in childhood. It always struck me as a graceful, rolling language, one of emotion and longing, filled with desire. It was a secret language that my mother spoke with her mother, my grandmother, of blessed memory. My grandmother...
