Expanding the Table of Thanksgiving Traditions
Thanksgiving is a day that celebrates gratitude, togetherness, and—of course—traditions. Every family has its own way of marking the holiday, whether it’s watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade – what happens with those balloons when it rains or is windy?; the precise method of cooking the turkey (to brine or not to brine?); or the […]
Holding Onto Hope and Doing the Work
Has it only been a week? It feels longer. Honestly, some days, it’s tempting to just stay in bed, pull the covers up, and wait for a better moment. Anyone else feel like that? This week has been heavy, and the news keeps coming at us, each headline more overwhelming than the last. We’ve had […]
Feelings of Uncertainty and Fear
The past 36 hours have been filled with many intense emotions. Yes, democracy worked, and the election results show that a majority of those who voted chose Donald Trump as the next President. However, that does not mean I will sit quietly over the next two or four years (including midterm elections). I am deeply […]
What is the Torah? We Each Have Our Own Answer.
Last night, we celebrated Simchat Torah, a time not only to conclude another year of reading the Torah but also to begin the journey anew. And on this journey we ask, what is the Torah? The story “When Zaydeh Danced on Eldridge Street” tells of a Zaydeh (grandfather) who wasn’t the easiest to get along […]
HaNefesh Songs of Gratitude Event: A Successful Celebration of Four Years of Jewish Life
Music brings people together and our Songs of Gratitude event was successful in bringing HaNefesh together to celebrate four years of doing and living Jewish. Thanks to everyone who joined us on Friday, HaNefesh Shabbat services with Sue Horowitz and then Saturday’s concert, Songs of Gratitude. The event was everything we hoped it would be […]
Take Two Minutes to Remember
This weekend we observe Memorial Day. This is a time that we are to remember the people who gave their lives in service to our country and defended our country so that we can live as a free nation. Memorial Day has become a time of sales and the start of the summer barbecue season. […]
We Come From the Garden
Last weekend, we did a thing…we planted a garden. We started with some grow bags and then a trip to a nursery for vegetable plants we knew we would like to eat. Admittedly, we could have bought a lot of vegetables for the amount we paid for plants and soil, but the activity is hard […]
Let Us Celebrate Israel’s 76th Birthday!
Yom HaAtzmaut, Israel Independence Day begins on Monday night, May 13. This year, as with many of the holidays since October 7th, it seems even more important to celebrate Jewish life. In 1948, the world watched as Ben Gurion, the Chairman of the Jewish Agency, stood at the Tel Aviv Museum amongst a large crowd […]
Never Again Is Now – Yom HaShoah in 2024
On January 30, 1933, 91 years ago, Hitler came to power and began the long road of building a case against the Jewish people that would lead to the murder of close to 7 million Jews and 11 million people during the Holocaust. It didn’t happen overnight, rather, it started with Germany losing World War […]
Yes, It Can Happen Again
Why did we let it happen? Why didn’t we just get out? How could we just let them lead us to the gas chambers? How could we let people push us out of businesses, schools, and our communities? These were questions from not only after the Holocaust, but these are questions we ask today, in […]
