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A Meaningful Passover (w/a Bit of Girl Power)

March 30, 2013 by 11 Comments
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This year Passover took a whole new meaning in my house.  For one thing, it's the first time my children have ever kept the holiday's strict dietary rules.  In prior years, I felt they were too young for me to change their dietary habits and I couldn't get them to eat enough Passover food to keep them going.  This year I decided that at ages 8 and 9, they could survive a week without bread, pasta and rice.  For another thing, going to Hebrew School twice a year seems to be paying off.  This is the first time they were genuinely excited to sit down … [Read more...]

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Trying to Make Sense of the Senseless

December 16, 2012 by 2 Comments
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Ever since the news broke on Friday morning about the awful tragedy in Newtown, I haven't been able to find the words to write here or elsewhere. The world has had twenty beautiful, innocent children taken from our world well before their time and I can't get their faces out of their minds.  Yesterday at the basketball court, they were standing before me getting ready to join my son in a game of scrimmage.  Today at Hebrew School, they were standing in the corner, clueless that their lives were about to be senselessly cut short. As I look at and … [Read more...]

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The Miracle of Hanukkah – What it Really Means to Me

December 9, 2012 by 14 Comments
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(This piece was inspired by an article I read today in the NYT - you can find it here.) Last night was the first night of Hanukkah.  The holiday falls much earlier than Christmas this year, which is always nice for parents like us.  There is less to compete with.  Trees aren't up yet in many homes and my kids aren't hearing talk of Santa lists, although I'm sure that talk will start tomorrow as Christmas is coming and the birds are getting fat ("please to put a penny in the old man's hat").  We managed to keep the emphasis on the candle lighting … [Read more...]

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The Rabbi and the 10K Question

October 5, 2012 by 9 Comments
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I looked forward to Yom Kippur this year.  I was eager to have a day or rest, disconnect from real life and come to terms with my shortcomings. I tried to forget that at the same time Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was at the UN  claiming that Israel had no roots in the Middle East and would eventually be "eliminated." When we got to synagogue in the morning, we took sight of our annual appeal card on our seat asking for a contribution to the synagogue.  We always make a donation on Yom Kippur, but after paying our annual dues, for … [Read more...]

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Rosh Hashanah Twitter Party: Ring in the New Year Twitter Style

September 10, 2012 by 1 Comment
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During the Jewish holidays, our families look to us to lead them through. Some of us are looking for ideas. How do we make Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur meaningful? How do we keep things interesting without breaking tradition? Are a round Challah and some apples and honey really enough? Join me and MamaDrama on Twitter this Thursday night at 9pm EST…the ultimate diaspora…for a special High Holiday hour. We’ll talk about our traditions, food/recipes and all things Rosh Hashanah (and if you want to throw in talk about Yom Kippur, why not?  We … [Read more...]

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A List of Favorite Jewish Films, Inside and Out

July 10, 2012 by 2 Comments
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When I polled a group of friends recently about their favorite Jewish films, I got a beautiful mishmash of responses.  This is to be expected - you always get the usual suspects like Fiddler's Roof, but you also get a list of comedies that touch on the Jewish experience from writers and directors like Woody Allen and Nora Ephron.  Most have incredible heart and have left a mark on our minds for our entire lives. Because in these movies we discover our people's histories and learn more about ourselves by watching.  Films don't have to be overtly … [Read more...]

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Bringing Anne Frank into the Modern World

July 2, 2012 by 3 Comments
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On my recent visit to Atlanta, my mother told me about an ongoing exhibit sponsored by the Georgia Commission on the Holocaust, Anne Frank in the World.  A long-time admirer of what her name has done to raise the profile about the truth of the Holocaust, I immediately Googled it and discovered it’s the world’s largest Anne Frank Exhibit.  I thought about taking my children, as my daughter recently read an easy version of the diary and is keenly interested in Anne Frank and her fate, but I decided that at ages 7 and 9, they are still too young to … [Read more...]

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Remembering Daniel Pearl, My Friend and Hero

February 4, 2012 by 10 Comments
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Ten years ago this month, millions became witnesses to the kidnapping and murder of the journalist Daniel Pearl at the hands of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, an Al Qaeda operative also alleged to be behind the 9/11 attacks. Pearl had recently been named the South Asia Bureau Chief for the Wall Street Journal; he was in Pakistan retracing the steps of the so-called “shoe bomber,” Richard Reid, when he was kidnapped. Pearl thought he was heading for an interview with Sheikh Mubarak Ali Gilani.  He never returned and his final days made international … [Read more...]

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Candle Seven: Growing Up a Fish Out Of Water

December 26, 2011 by 19 Comments
Hanukkah with Kids

When I was growing up in Atlanta, there were less than 100,000 Jewish residents in a city of several million.  My parents had moved there from Philadelphia, and they retained much of that Northern Jewishness that set us apart growing up.  Much of that was cultural - bagels and lox on Sunday mornings, for example, instead of grits and fried chicken. We were members of the Temple, the biggest Reform shul in the city, and my sisters and I went to Sunday School and were had Bat Mitzvahs and confirmations.  We were involved members of the community, and … [Read more...]

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Digging up an Old Post: Our Jewish Christmas

December 25, 2011 by 2 Comments
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(This is a repost from last year.  I will be posting a new Hanukkah tomorrow, as well, as part of the Hanukkah Hooplah blogger Hanukkah showdown) I grew up in a home with a mother who was desperately trying to shed some of her Jewish identity that she felt was forced down her throat.  Her parents had kept a strictly Kosher house.  Though they weren’t religious, she felt denied…..denied of having the experience of even just knowing how other people lived.  She lived in a very Italian neighborhood, so I am sure that Jewish people were a … [Read more...]

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