Reflections on Simchat Torah
October 2009 Two weeks ago we celebrated “Sukkot”- our beloved Feast of Tabernacles. But there’s a one day holiday tagged on to the tail-end of that week long festival, which I feel, sometimes gets lost
Reflections on the New Moon
November 2009 This past Shabbat I sat in synagogue, listening to the Blessing of the New Month, Kislev, which will begin tomorrow. “May it be Your will, our G-d and the G-d of our
Reflections on Prayers Upon Rising
February 2010 I lay in bed in the morning, trying to decide, through transparent eyelids, whether daylight has truly dawned or whether I have a few more minutes to burrow back under the covers. But
Reflections on Prayers for the State of Israel and Her Armed Forces
April 2010 These past two days have been a roller coaster of emotions. Monday was Israel’s Memorial Day for Fallen Soldiers and Victims of Terror. Every school, every city, every small community, had a ceremony
Reflections on Ushering in and Bidding Farewell to Shabbat
May 2010 In my home, as in many Jewish homes around the world, Friday afternoon, as Shabbat approaches, tends to be hectic. I call a five-minute warning upstairs to my girls who are putting the
Reflections on Rosh Hashanah
September 26, 2006 – Reflections on Rosh Hashanah I hosted seven people at my home for the two day Rosh Hashanah holidays. Add that to me, my husband and our seven kids, and we were
Reflections on Anim Zemirot
October 2010 The Shabbat morning services were coming to a close and I peeked through the partition separating the men’s section of the synagogue from the ladies’ section. I wanted to see which little boy
Reflections on Blessings
November 2010 The Jewish Liturgy is filled with formal prayer services, performed three times a day, every day, with even more added on Shabbat and festivals! But there are also mini prayers—blessings, actually—which we sprinkle
Reflections on Prayers for Good Health
February 2011 Too many of us know, from personal experience, what it’s like when someone close to us is diagnosed with a serious illness. You feel like you have to do something… everything and anything
Reflections on the Prayers for Purim
March 2011 I can’t get those faces of the Fogel family out of my mind. Udi and Ruth, the mother and father, little Yoav and Elad the sons, and Hadas the baby girl. Friday night,
Reflections on the Yizkor Service
May 2011 Last week I attended the ceremony commemorating Israel’s Memorial Day for Fallen Soldiers and Victims of Terror at my son’s school. Every school, every city, every small community, has a ceremony commemorating
Reflections on the Prayer For Our Children
June 2011 Today is June 14, but it is also the 12th day of the Hebrew month of Sivan, a month which boasts the Jewish holiday of Shavuot- Pentecost- the holiday celebrating the Giving
