The April that my son was eight years old we were preparing for Passover. My husband and kids had searched the house for chametz (the crumbs of leavening). Tradition says that you burn the chametz. So my husband put a strip of aluminum foil over the gas stove’s burner and turned on the flame. The…
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After the rush of the holidays comes this long quiet period – no more Jewish holidays until Chanukah which begins Dec. 8 this year. That leaves a lot of time for those families who find the Christmas – Chanukah period to be a challenge to think it through. Feel free to give me a…
Read More »Join Rabbi Straus and other parents to explore children’s concepts of God. Should parents open a conversation about God or wait for children to ask questions? What if you don’t believe in God but your spouse does? What should you say about what they are being taught in Religious School? What if you and your…
Read More »Rabbis have amazing God conversations with children fairly regularly. Why we don’t continue these conversations as easily as we age? The questions certainly don’t get any easier! Perhaps we forget, over the years, that sharing doubts and yearning for hope is what makes us human. I invite you to join an open and caring –…
Read More »Time to really CELEBRATE! Whew! The big days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are over. You trekked to synagogue for more hours in a row than some people go in a year! It’s easy to let Sukkot go by the wayside. We’re tired; enough already! But now that you’ve put in the serious time,…
Read More »Parents, siblings, aunts and cousins may be white but when their family includes racially diverse members they too are impacted by racial assumptions in the Jewish community. What do white family members have to share with us about how we can be more tuned in to their family? Join us for a dynamic and exciting…
Read More »Our weekly email goes out to hundreds of interfaith couples & families in the Bay Area. Topics cover the many questions and mysteries that interfaith couples want answered.