The Jewish holidays have pretty well wrapped up and the summer stretches before us. What will you do over the summer? I have some suggestions. Check out the synagogues Do some shul shopping. Now with no pressure on, go to services, chat with a few people, see which places you like. That way, come fall,…
Read More »A meaningful life
Creating Patterns That Strengthen Us
There are many times when I talk to you about “interfaith life” but I don’t actually talk about religion. This week I will be leading a workshop on Shabbat and while I will be talking about Shabbat as a ritual, you can generalize this information to other practices in your life. I promised the participants…
Read More »Creating Meaning in Little Ways
Savor the moments of your life When my youngest was an infant there was an evening when we had company over. After dinner my husband took the adults into the living room to chat. I took the baby into the bedroom to nurse, rock, and put to bed. I wanted to get back to adult…
Read More »Starting a new decade: Do something for your relationship
Welcome to 2010! Wow, an entire decade behind us and a lot of hope for the coming year. A long time ago I worked for UC Berkeley’s adult evening education program. What I was surprised to learn is that more people decide to plunge into a new class in January/February. I had assumed most people…
Read More »High Holidays: I’ve been here before
I’m quite fond of Rabbi Raffi Asher of B’nai Tikvah in Walnut Creek. I have known him a long time. He is very tall and always seems to bend slightly forward to come closer to short people like me. I like what he wrote about the High Holiday experience – I’m a fan of the film…
Read More »9-11
Dear Chevreh, Rabbi Menachem Creditor shared these memories and thoughts on that Sept. 11, eight years ago. I remember leaving class at JTS that Tuesday morning and going downstairs to move my car. A friend was in the elevator when I got in and asked, “did you hear about the planes that flew into the World…
Read More »