Our Hebrew high school offers core classes and elective classes in small units. When we were approaching the new unit, the educator asked me if I would be willing to teach a knitting class. I agreed to do it on two conditions: that we were able to somehow create a class that also involved serious [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Judaism’
2 Jan
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year to my wonderful readers! I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the concept of New Year’s resolutions. I’ve never thought much of them because I have rarely seen them work! It always seemed strange to me that everyone at once would pick an arbitrary, if unified, day to suddenly become better people. [...]
13 Dec
On Prayer…
I’d like to do a series of posts on this blog about prayer. But, before I discuss specific prayers, I think we need to first discuss the concept of prayer itself. Prayer is about relationship – a three way relationship between self, community, and G-d. Every prayer involves the interaction of these three and yet [...]
29 Sep
Watching From the Pews
It’s been a rough couple of weeks for me. I made it through the holidays fine, but came down with a nasty case of laryngitis, which progressed into fever, infection, and a week of misery shortly after Yom Kippur. The doctor put me on a Z-pack and a heavy dose of prednisone and promised me [...]
8 Sep
Two Things to Get You in That Rosh Hashanah Mood
Hi all! I wanted to share two things with you to put you in a Rosh Hashanah mood for tonight. The first is in the catagory, “Wisdom of My Students.” I assign my students thirteen mitzvot to do in preparation for their Bar or Bat Mitzvah. One of these is to read something Jewish (a [...]
31 Jul
Fear… or Awe!
“And now, O Israel, what does the Eternal One your G-d demand of you? Only this: to revere/ fear (yirah) the Eternal One, your G-d, to walk only in G-d’s paths, to love G-d, and to serve the Eternal One, your G-d, with all your heart and soul.” (Deuteronomy 10:12). With this week’s parashah, Eikev, [...]
18 Jul
No. You Can’t Take That Away From Me.
This coming Tuesday we will mark the Jewish observance of Tisha B’av. Tisha B’av, or the 9th day of the month of Av, is a national day of mourning for the Jewish people. According to tradition, a large number of disasters befell our people on this day. The most significant of these were the destruction [...]
29 Jun
Sitting Alone
I had the unfortunate occasion to be present for many family recitations of the mourner’s Kaddish when I was a child. After my grandparents died, my mom and dad always went to shul for their yahrzeits. When my mother’s father passed away, I attended synagogue with her for a full year. When Kaddish time came, [...]
6 Jun
Color, Faith and Fiber
My mother is an incredibly talented artist. For many years now, she has used her talents for the sake of chiddur mitzvah – beautifying the mitzvah – of tallit. She painted her first tallit for the occasion of my Bat Mitzvah. It was purple flowers on white silk, a simple, but lovely design. Over the [...]
