October 2015

Driving Ourselves Crazy (And Back Again) On Southern Jewish Road Trips

As ISJL Education Fellows, we spend a lot of time in the car, driving to our communities. More to the ...

Coming Out to Grandma

I never thought of myself as the type to lie to my grandmother. She’s always been my biggest fan. When ...

My First Aliyah – at 70

On Shabbat Noach (the Shabbat when Parshat Noah was read) I marked my 70th birthday by reciting haftarah at the Hendon ...

Of Challah-ween, Havdalah-ween and Yaakov Lanterns

If you’re reading this post during October, it’ll soon be Halloween – that great Jewish holiday.Yes, you read that right. ...

Magic is Happening Here

Dylan is 10 years old. He just returned home from eight weeks at Jewish camp. He initially signed up for ...

Going Back to the Future in Judaism

Last week it was back to the future day. Thirty years since the first movie came out, and 26 years since ...

Owning My Identities

Since I was a little kid growing up in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, I’ve always known that I was somehow different ...

Jews Celebrating Halloween in Small Town 1930s Texas: A Southern Jewish History Treat

Halloween has always been a part of my life. Maybe it’s because I’m a theater person, so the costume element ...

Jerks and Quirks

The people in our lives can sometimes surprise us. “Why did she say that?”  “Who would do that?”  “What was ...

A Feminist Walks Into An Orthodox Synagogue

This past Sukkot, I was on a spiritual high after Yom Kippur. The sanctuary had swelled with voices of prayer ...