Study
The blessing of lack
Kabbalah is an attempt to understand the brokenness of the universe.The other night, my chevruta (Study partner) and I were ...
Speaking Backwards
I’ve been told that students in my college courses sometimes have trouble following what I’m saying because I speak backwards.The ...
Historical Sources for Small Communities
Many of the Jewish communities that I research and write about for our Encyclopedia of Southern Jewish Communities are quite ...
Chanukah/Hanukkah: So Many Ways to Celebrate
The Daf Yomi (Hebrew for “page a day”), is a program for learning Talmud. Participants study one page a day, ...
Quiz: Which came first?
Can you identify the correct order of these famous events in Jewish history?
Can We Please Stop Re-Fighting Hanukkah?
Ask any Jew what Hanukkah is about and you are likely to get one of two possible explanations: Maccabees or ...
Shopping: A Southern Jewish Tradition
It’s that time of year again. Just when Southerners are celebrating football and the waning summer heat, the holiday shopping ...
Hanukkah: Holiday of Queer Miracles
I’m skeptical of Hanukkah. Maybe it’s the rampant commercialism that defines the entire month of December. Maybe it’s the way ...
Who isn’t a Jew?
In the ongoing dustup that started several years ago between Rabbi Daniel Gordis and a series of young rabbis, most ...
Seminole’s Henry Katz Shares Stories with Style
Since the 1940s, the Jews of Seminole, Ada, Nowata, and Shawnee, Oklahoma, have met at the Seminole Hebrew Center for ...
RULES WERE MEANT TO BE BROKEN
“Start working on this great work of art, called your own existence”– AJ HeschelA Life well lived is an art: ...
Yiddish Chickens, Screaming Latkes, and a Pig Who Wants to Be Kosher
What do Yiddish-speaking chickens, screaming latkes, and a pig who really, really wants to be kosher have in common?They’re all ...