In Which I Discover My Fences
Jews-by-Birth often inspire Jews-by-Choice to think in wider, more universal terms about our Judaism. In return, we hope to inspire Jews-by-Birth not to forget the particularities that make us–and keep us–Jewish.
The Amidah Project
Finding the still, small voice in a silent Amidah? Worth its weight in gold. Finding that silent Amidah in a Reform synagogue? Priceless. Explaining how finding that still, small voice feels? Worth a new blog series.
Carmen Elena Doyle, z”l, 1929-1996
As we live our days, these are the ways we remember. This Shabbat, I remember my mother.
Getting to the Point with the Yetzer Hara
If life were always perfect, why would God bother to put us here? A meditation on the need for the Yetzer Hara–Judaism’s ‘evil inclination’ that makes the world go ’round.
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.
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.