I was delighted to receive this letter from an annoyed reader! They wrote: Your column is always suggesting convoluted ways that interfaith couples can deal with more traditional Jewish views. Why bother? Why don’t you just tell them to join a Reform synagogue and be done with the people who don’t agree with their…
Read More »A meaningful life
Getting Ready for the High Holy Days
I just love this message from Rabbi David Booth of Kol Emeth in Palo Alto. Don’t make your introspection on the High Holy Days negative, find the joy. It is Good to be Joyful I feel the need to advocate for joy this week. We’re entering a time traditionally associated with introspection. Yet too often…
Read More »We are what we Nosh
Rabbi Milder of Beth Emek in Pleasanton sent out an email to his congregation last Friday reminding them of the importance of food – as a gesture of hospitality, as a social mixer, as a gesture of caring. Here’s what he had to say: Shabbat services don’t feel complete without Oneg Shabbat. It’s like dinner…
Read More »Cantor Jennie Chabon on Learning from Strangers
I love this article by Cantor Chabon of B’nai Tikvah in Walnut Creek. Have you ever heard of ‘lamed vavniks’? No? Read on. A couple of weeks ago, Steve and I took our boys on a family trip to Portland for a few days. We rarely have free weekends to travel together because of Shabbat,…
Read More »Marriage Equality is about Civil Marriages & it’s HERE!
What great timing! Last night I received the last email from my list of San Francisco bay area non-Orthodox rabbis replying to my question, “Do you officiate at same sex weddings for two Jews?” It was my belief that they all did. But I was challenged by a colleague who said that just wasn’t true….
Read More »No one really ‘has’ a Bar Mitzvah; No one ‘gets’ Bat Mitzvahed
It is common in Jewish parlance to say that someone is “having” or “getting” a bar mitzvah. But it doesn’t really work that way. I love Rabbi Milder’s article on this topic. He covers it while talking about celebrating bar/bat mitzvah as adults. Here’s what he has to say. Let’s talk about Bar/Bat Mitzvah. No…
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