Tag: judaism

On Thursday Temple Beth Shalom will launch a three-week introduction to Judaism class.

It’s one thing for liberal Jewish congregations to accept intermarried couples fully into the fold. It’s quite another for rabbis to model intermarriage, which plenty of American Jews still view as religio-cultural kryptonite.

Bubbe is the reason we are observant Jews. When our children were just promises in the distant future, my husband and I struggled to figure out how we wanted to raise them.

The Sh’ma, as it sometimes called, is the essence of Judaism, so why were so many non-Jews saying it? Because of one atrocious act of hate, a swastika painted on the temple sometime during High Holy Day services, because of that we were all here together.

I vividly remember objecting when our twin daughters were about 8 or 9 years old and asked about a Harry Potter themed b’not mitzvah (b’not is the plural of bat). I argued, “Absolutely not. Harry Potter has nothing to do with Judaism.

Although I have known and admired many Jews who might call themselves traditional, I’m not likely ever to do so myself. As I understand it, Hyphen’s worldview may represent Conservative Judaism more than mine, which skews Reform (if we’re handing out labels).

A few years back I heard a rabbi speak. He told us something that I have thought of often since then.“People assume,” he said, “that following the Law is a burden, that it’s a chore. But actually,” he went on, “it’s a joy.”