Thanksgiving and Sukkot
Thanksgiving’s Jewish Connection Legend has it that the first Thanksgiving was a sort of neighborhood block party when settlers invited local Indians to a festive celebration with tables piled high with all sorts of yummy delights. But that’s not how it happened. The real story is that the English settlers observed that first Thanksgiving after […]
Cleaning Your Chanukah Menorah
We “wax eloquently” on bringing back the shine Although Chanukah is a minor Jewish holiday, it is “major” in the eyes of many Jewish families, especially where there are children who enjoy festivities that continue for eight nights. Chanukah itself derives from the Hebrew word, “dedication,” and it is during this festival that Jews all over […]
Jewish Ritual Rescue
Jewish Ritual Rescue What Happens to Judaica When Our Kids Don’t Want It? Last year in a local Goodwill store I found a very old Kiddush cup. It sat on a shelf crowded with an assortment of pewter and silver goblets and was so tarnished that I nearly missed the inscriptions. Engraved on the […]
Prying My Grandkids Off Their Cell Phones
Luisa describes herself as one of the lucky ones. She says, “I have it better than so many of my friends. My grandkids live near me and I see them all the time.” But for Luisa, her visits with her grandchildren have taken a troublesome turn. “I SEE my grandkids,” she says. “But that’s it. […]
Olive Oil Beaten For The Light
The Torah commands an ancient practice that lives today in Italy It is May in Calabria, an isolated region stretching from the “instep” to the “toe” of the Italian “boot,” and the olive trees are in bloom. Tiny cream colored flowers grace each branch as we southern Italians await the first fruits of our […]
Inflation’s Killing Our Budget – Should We Ask Our Kids for Help?
Aging Jewishly – What Our Traditions Tell Us about Growing Old By Rabbi Barbara Aiello The Kitchen table in Beth and Martin’s apartment was covered with papers, each in its own neat stack. There were utility bills, grocery receipts, doctors’ prescriptions and an occasional scratch-off lottery ticket, symbolic of the no-win situation that currently characterizes […]
“I haven’t heard from him in years…” When Parents and Adult Children Are Estranged
Aging Jewishly – What Our Traditions Teach Us about Growing Old By Rabbi Barbara Aiello The cellphone chimed the first few bars of Jimmy Buffett’s “Margaritaville”, jolting Julie out of her ten minute afternoon “schlaf.” “Did I catch you sleeping?” It was Beth, Julie’s oldest friend – the only person other than her husband that […]
NEW! Paddington Bear Inspired by Jewish Refugee Children
The year was 1958 when war-weary Britain first met the character that became the beloved Paddington Bear. In that very first book author Michael Bond (z”l) introduced children and adults to a lonely bear that had just arrived in Paddington Station, wearing a sign begging someone to “Please Look After This Bear.”
A Chanukah Gift with Spiritual Meaning
The Hamsa (symbolic hand) has Sephardic Jewish Roots Popular in jewelry, ceramics, and pottery art the five-fingered, hand-shaped symbol, called the Hamsa, commands a prominent place in Jewish tradition, so much so that historians believe that it is as ubiquitous as the Magen David (Star of David). The word, “Hamsa” derives from the Hebrew word for […]
A Chanukah Tradition – The Teddy Bear
He’s cuddly and soft. He makes us feel warm, safe and secure. No matter how old we are, we love them. Why? Because there’s nothing quite like a Teddy bear. And of all the gifts that you could give at Chanukah and all the gifts that you could get for Chanukah, one of the very […]