Preparing for Pesach in the Year 5785
We are less than a month away from Pesach, which in the mind of the Jew means it may as well be tomorrow. In fact, if you’re just thinking about […]
March 21, 2025
March 14, 2025
Understanding Purim Differently
I walked into the Barry Family Campus Purim morning dressed as the Queen of Hearts. I wore a glittering silver tiara, a sweater covered in hearts, pink glittery eyeshadow, and […]
March 12, 2025
What is our Job as Parents?
The Torah outlines the educational responsibilities of parents toward their children clearly and unambiguously with statements such as, “you shall teach these words [i.e., the words of the Shema describing […]
March 11, 2025
King Ahasuerus: Foolish Puppet or Malevolent Despot?
Some characters in the Purim story are transparent: Queen Esther is good Mordechai is good Haman is bad But what about King Ahasuerus? Most of us remember the story of […]
March 5, 2025
Finding My Jewish Voice in the Land of 10,000 Lakes
Growing up in New York, being Jewish was as natural as breathing – it was everywhere, woven into the fabric of daily life. Kosher delis dotted every neighborhood, Yiddish phrases […]
February 21, 2025
And I Wasn’t Even There
The pain of thousands and millions is the same pain that’s ripping my heart apart at the seams, but we know the pain is the greatest for only one. It’s […]
January 27, 2025
The Books My Grandparents Kept
Some of you may know that I’m a descendent of Holocaust survivors… and not just one grandparent — four of my 6 grandparents were/are survivors. *Are because my [step]-Nana survived […]
January 24, 2025
Fulfilling A Higher Calling
“Please take off your badge as you leave,” the security officer mumbled to me under his breath. After attending the 2025 International Lion of Judah Conference in downtown Atlanta, I […]
January 10, 2025
When Do I Say Kaddish?
Some years ago one of my elderly relatives remarried. Her new husband Shimon, was a Holocaust survivor whose relatives had been deported from France and murdered in Auschwitz, but he […]
November 18, 2024
Just In Case
My wife and her family taught me how to encounter death. Before I met them, I had experienced predictable loss, like grandparents who died after living full lives. No one […]