generations

A Bar Mitzvah in the Mississippi Delta During A Global Pandemic

Even during times like these, small southern Jewish communities find a way

Acharei Mot – Kedoshim, Fearing Death and Respecting Our Elders

"Be careful to continue to respect an elder who has forgotten his Torah knowledge due to circumstances beyond his control. Even though he is no longer a Torah scholar, he must still be respected for the Torah that he once possessed. As we say: Both the tablets of the Covenant and the broken tablets are placed in the Ark.”  (BT Berachot 8) 

Highlighting the History of Huntsville’s Jewish Community

During the fall of 2011 Margaret Anne Goldsmith, a descendant of the first four Jewish families to settle in Huntsville, ...

Beyond “Cute” & “Sweet”: Truly Respecting Our Elders

I recently watched this great animated clip from StoryCorps. The woman featured in the clip, Kay Wang, immediately reminded me ...

Summer Camp Circle Game

“And go round and round and round in the circle game…”The words of Joni Mitchell’s classic folk song have been ...

Vinyl for Hipsters vs. Vinyl for High Holy Days: Or, “Old School Columbia Records”

This blog post was written by Anna Stusser, a summer intern currently working in the Museum Department at the ISJL.Vinyl ...

Lost Stories

The Mothers  is my third novel but it’s the first novel I’ve written that tracks so closely with my own ...

Storytellers

As a Jewish blogger and editor, I always say that the period leading up to Jewish Book Month is one of ...