How to Tackle Too Much Stuff – A Jewish Approach to Decluttering
How to Tackle Too Much Stuff – A Jewish Approach to Decluttering Rabbi Barbara Aiello “Can I help you with that?” The question came from the UPS driver who had just delivered a package to Jeanette’s next door neighbor. Jeanette offered a grateful smile and let the young man lift the box she was carrying […]
Is There a Message in My Grandson’s Brushed Up Hair
Is There a Message in My Grandson’s Brushed Up Hair Rabbi Barbara Aiello Helen couldn’t help but smile when she received a scan of her grandson Jake’s graduation picture. “I’m printing this out,” she said aloud. “Jake is handsome as all get out and I’m taking this to my bridge club to show the girls.” […]
The Shofar – Rosh HaShanah’s Most Remembered and Best Loved Ritual
In a recent survey of Jewish people of all denominations and backgrounds, of all ages and of all levels of observance from synagogers to secular Jews – when they were asked what they remembered most about the High Holy Days the response was near unanimous – the shofar! Actually, the remembrance not the instrument itself, […]
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 […]
Trauma at the Seder Table
With the “good dishes” gracing the table, wine glasses gleaming and places set for 26 guests, the annual Passover seder was, as PopPop pronounced, “ready for prime time.” But in seconds the tranquility of the evening was disturbed by the shrieks of the two youngest granddaughters. “It’s my turn to put the parsley on the […]
Labor Day Rosh Hashanah and Thanksgiving Chanukah – Enough Already!
Can We Bring the Generations Together with a New Diaspora Calendar? Aging Jewishly – What Our Traditions Tell Us about Growing Old By Rabbi Barbara Aiello Long before Covid complicated Jewish observance, there were ominous signs that participation in synagogue life, especially Holy Day and festival services, was on the decline. Dependent as we Jews […]
Should I tell them I’m sick?
Aging Jewishly – What Our Traditions Teach Us about Growing Old It has been three weeks since Dan got the news and his head is still spinning. “I know I’m getting on in years,” says the 78 year old retired biology teacher and part time musician, “but I never expected that a regular check-up would […]
When a Loved One Dies by Suicide
Aging Jewishly – What Our Traditions Tell Us about Growing Old As her cell phone slid from her grasp, it occurred to Dorothy that she was in shock. The room was spinning, so much so that Dorothy grabbed the back of her kitchen chair and stumbled forward in an awkward attempt to sit down. Now […]