Get Out of Shul Free Card
“Get Out of Shul Free” Card – A Shabbat Idea Whose Time Has Come: Almost all of us have played Monopoly so we know how lucky it is to pick the, Get Out of Jail Free card. You stash it away knowing that it’s sure to come in handy some time soon. The Get Out […]
Happy Secular New Year
“The Jewish Greeting for the Secular New Year” Throughout Israel, especially in Tel Aviv, the last day of the year is “party night.” On December 31st Israelis will celebrate along with the rest of the world but instead of shouting “Happy New Year,” Israelis do something different. As the year turns from one year to […]
Chanukah Candle Lighting Blessings
The Chanukah Candle Lighting Blessings begins by understanding that we will be adding one candle to the menorah each night. The first night, you light only the shammus (the one at a different height) and one Chanukah candle. Add another candle each night: second night light two candles, third night light three candles, so that […]
One Rabbi’s View Same Sex Marriage
As they walked together toward the bridal canopy, the chuppah in Hebrew, their steps were slow and measured. But it was not only the solemnity of the moment that created the pace. There was something more. Ray’s arm steadied Giorgio while Giorgio’s cane offered them additional stability. But no infirmity could dim their smiles. Ray, […]
Lag B Omer Interfaith Understanding
Lag B Omer Interfaith Understanding The festival of Pesach is behind us. We’ve wiped the wine stains from the Haggadot booklets or, if we used special dishes, they are now put away. Finally the bread and cookies are back in the pantry and with a smile of satisfaction and relief, the most popular of all the […]
Soul Searching for Rachela
Rabbi Barbara welcomes guest blogger, Marcia Colagiovanni. Marcia and Rabbi met via the Italian Jewish Cultural Center of Calabria (IjCCC) when Rabbi helped Marcia discover the Jewish roots of her family’s Italian surnames. Marcia describes her remarkable Jewish journey which includes a deeply spiritual experience at the Hayim Mayim Mikveh in Boston, USA. You can […]
Lag B’ Omer: An Opportunity for Interfaith and Inter-denominational Understanding
The festival of Pesach is behind us. We’ve wiped the wine stains from the Haggadot booklets or, if we used special dishes, they are now put away. Finally the bread and cookies are back in the pantry and with a smile of satisfaction and relief, the most popular of all the Jewish holidays is a […]
Chuppah History and Traditions
…Chuppah History from Italy and Around the World Of all of the traditions that define the Jewish wedding ceremony, the chuppah, or bridal canopy, is one of the most symbolic and important. The canopy itself is a symbol of God’s love above the married couple as well as the home that they will now […]
The Tiny Torah Travels to Jamaica
Bat Mitzvah of Chloe A. Montego Bay, Jamaica June 9, 2010 The Travelling Torah from which Chloe read (pictured here in Chloe’s arms) was inscribed in south central Europe, possibly in Slovenia or Romania in the years prior to 1880. We know this because after 1880, Rabbis defined the exact dimensions of a scroll and no […]
Italian Jewish Singers
Dalida` an Italian Jewish Singer – As a “Bat Anousim” she was “I nostri” – “one of us.” Although she was born Iolanda Cristina Gigliotti, when it came time to select a stage name, she chose “Dalida`” from the Hebrew for “delight.” And, as Dalida` she became one of the world’s most beloved performers, singing […]