Many people of all faiths are suffering right now. There is fear and a sense of helplessness. But we are not helpless. There are large, communal actions we can take. But there are also small intimate actions that build a sense of trust, community, safely — in our very own neighborhoods. Cantor Jennie Chabon of…
Read More »Archives
Does my Jewish grandpa make me Jewish?
My mother’s father was raised Jewish, and so was his brother. The brother moved to Australia and raised a Jewish family, but my mother’s father gave up the Jewish faith and encouraged his children to adopt the religion of their new country, America. Am I Jewish by birth? There is a Reform synagogue not far…
Read More »What is Worth Carrying Forward
This Shabbat Rabbi Rebecca Gutterman of B’nai Tikvah in Walnut Creek sent the following email to her congregation. You probably all know about the sequoia that fell in Calaveras Big Trees State Park. Rabbi Gutterman draws a connection to this week’s Torah portion, Vayechi. Reading it gave me the shivers. For those of us who…
Read More »2017 – Bring it ON!
Here we go – 2017! Our world has been shaken. I, for one, was stunned by the election results. The majority of my family and friends are in categories that feel increasingly unsafe. As a woman I have been subject to sexual harassment and as a Jew I have been told I wasn’t welcome (yes,…
Read More »I Want All Streams of Judaism to see my Kids as Jewish
The email from this Jewish Dad is a pretty common view for men from Reform congregations. For that matter, it’s a pretty common view period. But what do you do when your opinion differs from that of others? I replied to him in my Mixed and Matched column in the J-weekly. My wife is…
Read More »A Rabbi Reflects on the Gregorian New Year
Rabbi Milder of Beth Emek in Pleasanton sent this email to his congregation. He summarizes the four Jewish new years and considers the meaning of the Gregorian New Year that is observed on Dec. 31. Which New Year Is It? The Mishnah records that there are not one, but actually four new years. The rabbis…
Read More »