(Shakshuka_by_Calliopejen1 on Wikipedia) On a trip to Israel together, my dear friend Laurie, fell in love with the Israeli dish, Shakshuka. So she invented Shakshuka Day. It falls on the last Shabbat of the secular calendar year and it involved eating shakshuka, pretty easy. This year Laurie is hosting her special day after services at…
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Hold your breath and jump in, it’s a week of holidays. First up is Hanukkah which begins this Sunday night, second is Christmas on Wednesday. Full stop! Whether you are doing one or the other holiday or both or neither, I want you to relax and enjoy it. If your family and you won’t be…
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Dear Dawn: I moved in with my Jewish boyfriend in July. At that time, I agreed not to have Christmas in our apartment. Now I’m having second thoughts. I do Passover and Hanukkah with him. Christmas is just one day a year and I have so many beloved traditions. For me, getting and decorating the tree, shopping…
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Transmitting a love of Jewish heritage, ritual and tradition to our grandchildren brings so much joy and at the same time can be challenging. Many of our kids are partnered with non-Jews and many of our sons and daughters are conflicted about religion. If you struggle with the December dilemma (Hanukkah and Christmas); if you…
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Happy Thanksgiving! The entire point of Thanksgiving is to be thankful. It’s a great time to express appreciation in the form of a prayer or statement. If you like prayer, consider learning – or simply reading – one or more of the Jewish blessings over food. My Jewish Learning has a terrific page that gives…
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Where Will You Spend Thanksgiving and Christmas/Hanukkah? Non-Jewish families are often confronted with which spouse’s family will get them for Christmas. One solution is to flip back and forth for Thanksgiving and Christmas. For interfaith families the question of “who gets us?” can be, Thanksgiving with the Jewish family and Christmas with the Christian (or…
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