Category archive for ‘OBSERVANCE’ 
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Back on the Pig
For thousands of years, Judaism’s dietary laws kept us from sharing meals with hostile parties who wanted us to assimilate. But what’s the point of avoiding bacon cheeseburgers in 2012?
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First You Do (the High Holy Days), and Then You Hear
The High Holy Days that marked the beginning of 5772 also marked the end of my first observed Jewish year. I expected the Days of Awe to be fulfilling. But what was missing turned out to be the best part of all.
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A Jew By Any Other Name
I wear my kippah full-time for two reasons. First, out of a sense of humility before God. Now raise your hand if you’ve ever met someone with an Irish last name and assumed they were Jewish. That’s the other reason.
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When a Reform Jew Lays Tefillin
In theory, Reform Jews can follow any commandment by which they feel moved. But some traditional practices move few Reform Jews. Praying every morning with tefillin is usually one of those practices. Here’s why it moves me–and why that’s just fine.
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How Far Would You Go to Repair the World?
Columbia College fakes a protest movement to teach students about real-world problems. An acquaintance knows their job is committing racial discrimination but does nothing. When you have a chance to help repair the world but don’t, is that OK? And when?
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Passoverwrought
Plan all the phoney matzah meals you want, or avoid it completely and subsist on permitted meats and quinoa. No amount of advance planning will take all the sting out of observing Passover. Nor should it.
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Oy to the World
When a well-meaning friend asked me on Christmas Eve, “Is being at temple tonight hard for you?” they were surprised I said, “No.” I wasn’t surprised at all.
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The Miracle of the Smoldering Carpet
Lessons from my first-ever first night of Chanukah: check wooden matches for cracks; don’t use the match box to put out the carpet; …and be prepared to feel six-years-old all over again.
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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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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.
