A Sense of Belonging: My Conversion Story

I grew up in a silent spiritual world, the seed of what was yet to come, planted so deeply, it took years to sprout. But when it did I discovered healing, wholeness, a sense of belonging—to my synagogue, Shir Tikvah, and Judaism. But it took a long time, and required a lot of help, to get there, to get to this moment.

Life Is A Bet

Sefer Bereshit starts out with the Hebrew letter “bet”.  The first Midrash Rabba (and echoed in Yerushalmi Chagiga 2:2) notes that the reason this is not an “alef” is because “bet” is bounded on the top, the back, and the bottom. There is only one way to move and that is forward (assuming it is […]

Got Noshes? Gluten-free Treats Prove Tricky

Food is an essential ingredient in Jewish life. So says my partner, Liddy, and I’m sure most agree with her. Last April, when my naturopathic nutritionist recommended I eliminate gluten, corn, soy, dairy, eggs and a number of other foods to see if we could figure out what was causing my joint pain and digestive […]

The State of My (Interfaith) Union

Mike sits next to me at Shabbat services, and that night on the bimah, when we received our blessing on our tenth anniversary, he mumbled Kiddush alongside me. And he is still not a Jew, and he doesn’t always feel like he fits in with the Jewish community. And I know what that feels like, and when I see him trying anyway, it makes me try harder. To make his choice to be part of all this worth it.

A Little Bit Of Light And A Lot Of Bit Of Love

Getting to know Grandma and Gramps was one of the biggest perks of my marriage. My husband is lucky enough to have grown up with both grandparents, a privilege I never had. And they are the most awesome couple alive. We went to visit them with our son this Sunday, and we walked in on […]

Is That Poop or Chocolate? A Motherhood Top 10

Inspired by the words of friend and fellow parent Joel Feder as he blogged about the “10 Life Lessons of Being A Parent” that he has learned as of Day 4 of being a parent, I had to write my top 10 life lessons gleaned from my baby Madeline’s first year.