Some Nostalgia… and Where it can Lead
It is with tremendous nostalgia that I tell you that it is time for Annual Chanukah Bazaars. My eldest, Elly, is twenty one years old and before she was born my husband and I were members of Beth El in Berkeley and volunteered at the Bazaar. At the thought of the Bazaar, the years vanish and I can remember sitting on the folding chair making change as the people made their purchases. It was such fun. The food was good too. Find some place to volunteer. A bazaar in your own congregation, this is a good familiar place to start. There is also the food bank, Jewish Family & Children’s Services, shelters, and churches. It is such a joy to be part of a community of people all focused on doing good. That’s how I was raised and I bet, so were you.
My kids have made sandwiches and collected coats for shelters, sent money for seed and animals for people in other countries, collected books for children, done office work at Shalom Bayit. Weeded elderly people’s yards, painted shelters & homes. They learned by doing. So will yours. You and they will have sweet memories of feeling good about doing good.
Identity in America
There was an interesting article on Adoption in America in the New York Times. It doesn’t address religion at all, but it does talk about identity. It’s work reading.
Adoption and the American Family
Who Are you Known As?