Rekindling A Passion For Israel & Judaism
I hadn’t been to Israel in 17 years, since going on Birthright with a group of fellow students from UW-Madison, on a trip lead by Benjie Kaplan, the current University […]
August 15, 2022
August 15, 2022
Friendship: Each According To His Way
It is 7:05 a.m. on a Thursday morning in early January and I somehow find myself in my car with my almost 10-year old son eating his breakfast in the […]
August 15, 2022
“Felt” Like Making Hamentaschen
Purim’s almost here, so poppyseeds, apricot jam and even prunes are filling kitchens, as Hamentaschen baking is in full swing. Hamantaschen are the traditional fruit or poppyseed filled triangular cookies […]
August 15, 2022
Determining Our Own Reunification Rituals
The more observant or clergy-identifying folks in our readership are about to roll their eyes hard, but it is truly incredible how often the Torah and its wise guidance match […]
August 15, 2022
A Journey Through History With My Zaida
One out of three hundred. When 299 armed soldiers deployed for Korea, my grandfather, whom I lovingly refer to as Zaida, defied the odds. He was chosen to serve as […]
August 15, 2022
August 15, 2022
The Road To Freedom Isn’t An Easy One
I dedicate these words to our neighbor George Floyd (z”l), may his memory be for a revolution. A new Pharaoh rose up over Egypt who knew not Joseph. Now, when […]
August 15, 2022
An Understanding of Gender in the Torah from Binary to Merism
How can I curse what God has blessed? That is what Balaam, the go to prophet-for-hire in the 13th century BCE says to the King of Moab. We read these […]
August 15, 2022
When School And Work Collide With The Holidays
I have been in school basically my whole life, first as a student, then as a teacher, now as a professor. Every year (except for when I taught at a […]
August 15, 2022
From Rare Disease Despair To Differencemakers
About six years ago, before the horribleness that no parent should have to go through, Ron Garber and June Garber Cheng were welcoming their first child into the world and […]