Standing on the podium last week in Paris’ Grand Palais, a gold medal hanging around her neck, fencer Jackie Dubrovich was also walking in the footsteps of many successful US Jewish athletes.
The High Holidays are around the corner and it’s hard to believe that we are once again facing decisions on how, where and with whom to spend them. With the …
Last month, I hiked through fields of flowers in Montana, framed by a backdrop of the snow-covered Bridger Mountains. Several weeks later I rented a car in Portland and passed …
My father passed away almost three years ago — just a few months shy of his 100th birthday. As goal-oriented as he was, I am certain it bothered him that …
Spring has sprung and along with the warmer temps and new sprigs of green, comes the blossom of hope. For more than a year, COVID has limited our life choices; …
The experience of celebrating Jewish holidays has been dramatically altered since the onset of the pandemic over a year ago. From solitary Passover seders to attending High Holiday services on …
Human beings are born into relationship. It is our natural way of being — a state of need coupled with desire — without which we languish physically, mentally, emotionally and …
The Jewish High Holidays and Sukkot have come and gone this year, unlike any other, and posed new challenges for all of us because of COVID. Yet, COVID also offered …
The Jewish New Year of 5781 began with a serious COVID challenge: How can we, as Jews, celebrate our traditions and participate in holiday services during a pandemic, which requires …
Sept. 18, 2020 heralds the first night of Rosh Hashanah and the advent of the Jewish year 5781. But accompanying the traditional apples and honey this year is an unprecedented …
She opened her copy of The New York Times and I watched as her face turned pale. On the front page of the Metro section was a full-page picture captioned, …
Since March of this year, we have been forced to reassess and restructure how we think about and interact with the world. From empty calendars and stockpiled closets to work, …
I have always been a “touchy-feely” kind of gal. And while I never gave it much thought before, I realize now that I am a chronic hugger, arm-linker and couch-snuggler. But …
We are all equal in the eyes of the coronavirus. Each of us is now living in an altered universe where many of the assumptions and expectations upon which our …
Passover is the holiday when Jews come together for seder with families, friends and community to retell the core Jewish narrative which goes like this: We were slaves for over …
The job description might read something like this: “Looking for someone 24/7 with the patience of a saint, the wisdom of the Dali Lama, the goodness of Mother Teresa and …
It began as a typical Christmas Eve. To borrow from Elana Kagan: “Like most Jews, I was at a Chinese restaurant.” This year Christmas Eve fell on the third night …
CHANUKAH 5780 SECTION E PAGE 23 Arizona. California. Israel. Peru. Boston. No matter what state, country, time zone or zip code, I make it my business to call my mother …
I recently returned from a fantastic trip to Israel — an interfaith delegation sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona. Our group consisted of 28 open-minded people — a vibrant …
We gathered together in the warm September sun at my father’s gravesite, just 10 days shy of a year since he died. It was the coming together of the family …
In October, 1965, Columbia Records released a hit song by the Byrds called “Turn, Turn, Turn.” But while my friends and I loved its beautiful harmony, I never suspected that …
She walked over to the swimming pool with the baby held lovingly in her arms. She was laughing and making silly faces; the baby clearly delighted and entranced with her …
I arrived in Tucson in the sweltering heat in the summer of 1976 with the intent of visiting my Aunt Gen for a few weeks and enhancing my already freckled tan. …
On a cold and windy day in February, I drove an hour and a half from Haifa to Jerusalem in search of my great-great-grandfather, Rabbi Moshe Yehudah Franco. I had …