Living A Fully Jewish Life
Six months after the Tree of Life Synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh where 11 people were killed and six wounded, I sat in a Twin Cities synagogue with my family. We […]
I’m Sorry: The Importance Of Tashlich
All of us need to apologize from time to time. I love that Judaism has a compelling and tangible ritual of personal accountability, each year during Rosh Hashannah. Our family […]
When School And Work Collide With The Holidays
I have been in school basically my whole life, first as a student, then as a teacher, now as a professor. Every year (except for when I taught at a […]
Twistees, Technology, and T’shuva: An Elul Reflection
A new word has entered our popular lexicon courtesy of the Olympics and Simon Biles: a twistee. A twistee occurs when a gymnast experiences a lack of alignment between their […]
More Than A High Holiday Mailer
I just spent two hours with my synagogue’s High Holiday guide which arrived in the mail last week. Two. Hours. Longer than any Pottery Barn catalog I’ve memorized, and I’ve […]
Parenting By Parsha: Ki Tetzeh
When I first conceived of this column, I ran it by an editor friend who told me it was a bad idea. “Aren’t there a lot of weekly portions that […]
Parenting By Parsha: Re’eh
This week’s portion is chock-full of interesting things to write about. So full, in fact, that I had to read it a few times before I could choose something. We’re […]
Parenting By Parsha: VaEtchanan
A few weeks ago, my cousins came to visit us from Boston. It was a joyous day — we hadn’t seen one another for ages due to COVID-19 regulations. We […]
New Documentary Shines Light On Disability Rights Advocacy
When Allison Norlian was a little girl, she didn’t realize that her family was different. With a loving mom and a great big sister, Norlian felt lucky and surrounded by […]
Parenting By Parsha: Dvarim
My kid is a risk-taker. While there may have been some question about this (Does he understand what he’s doing? Did I make the boundaries clear?) it’s now undoubtedly true […]