Date archive for November, 2010
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“Yenta, please.”
Saturday after temple in a north side Starbucks, I sat down with a Reform Jewish friend. I had my kippah on and my computer open. As we were walking out, an Orthodox woman sitting nearby turned to a stranger and told him I wasn’t going to be a good Jew. And as you may have guessed, I marched right back in.
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Express Scripts: Loose Lips Get Thanksgiving Pink Slips
Why do some companies persist in thinking that human kindness and federal labor law are mere impediments to profitability? Spiritual bankruptcy, perhaps? You can fill your heart with fairness or you can try to fill the hole in your soul with money. But at the end of the day, you still have to live in the same community.
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Kippah Grip
The beauty of Reform Judaism is the freedom to adopt traditional practices that speak to your heart. The beast of Reform Judaism is getting the fish eye from Reform Jews who think adopting tradition makes you Orthodox. Problem is, tradition is just what many potential converts–like me and my kippah-covered head–are attracted to.
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I, Akeelah
So. My blog–and I–have joyed out lately. Not to mention Jewed out, compassioned out, and otherwise jumped for happy. And the lesson for me in all of that? That I don’t need to apologize for one sickeningly lovely moment of what, as it turns out, is the time of my life.
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Fourteen Christmases and a Chanukiyah
Living Jewishly obviously means spending the period from Thanksgiving Day to New Year’s Eve with a different emphasis. This year, I’ll leave my well-known tree fetish behind. But as I ponder all the adult Christmases I’ve kept, I’m realizing I won’t miss that holiday’s sense of joy and wonder…because I’m increasingly finding those feelings to be an everyday part of my new journey.
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Maytag Man
Owning household appliances? Normal. Naming household appliances? Pushing it. Feeling like a bad parent for overfilling the dishwasher or watching the Roomba crash into a wall? Me.
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Stoop-Sitting for Singles
I’m one of the Interweb’s charter bloggers. In 1999 I began scribing the Brooklyn local site for About.com. For most of the following three years, I wrote weekly articles about life in the “Mother Borough.” I used to have an archive of all my old content, but a hard drive crash in the early 2000s put an end to that. Or so I thought.
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Target Corp: How About a Nice Menorah for Christmas?
Why does Target Corp. think delivering Chanukah menorahs by Christmas Eve is a selling point for Jews?
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Illinois to Disabled: Quality of Life Is Elsewhere
This month, the Chicago Community Trust’s Persons with Disabilities Forum announced surprising findings regarding the quality of life the disabled can expect to enjoy in Illinois. In short: not much.
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2010 Knight News Challenge Deadline December 1st
This year’s Knight News Challenge deadline is December 1st. If you have an innovative idea about disseminating community news online, now is the time to apply for this Chicago Community Trust-managed grant competition.
