How the Charlottesville March Reminded Me of My Favorite Havdalah Service
I couldn’t help but notice the similarities between their protest and our Havdalah services – and the deep differences those parallels represent.
I couldn’t help but notice the similarities between their protest and our Havdalah services – and the deep differences those parallels represent.
Even as Shabbat is a day of rest, it also has the power to agitate, and thus is a call to action, a call for us to respond to the injustices we see in our world.
Every week, we can experience an enlivening of our deepest selves when we turn away from the world of work for Shabbat.
At camp, Judaism is a joy. It’s woven into camp stories, camp friends, and every camp experience.
This year, Temple Emanuel of Greensboro, N.C., will hold its 22nd annual MLK Shabbat Service. Around 600 people typically attend this service, although in some years, guest speakers like civil rights activist Rev. William Barber and anthropologist Dr.
This Friday evening begins with a candle-lighting for both Hanukkah and Shabbat. Let us consider the customs and meaning of both holidays with this special prayer.
Each Shabbat, my eyes tear up when I sing the Kiddush. My dad would smile to hear my husband's baritone and our daughter's alto carrying on his tradition.
On most Friday afternoons during the last six years, just before turning off my computer, I peruse a starred folder in my Gmail account that most people probably don’t have: It’s my “Possible FB postings for Shabbat” file, an organic, growing anthology of quotes related to Shabbat. Many of them are borrowed from the liturgy in the Reform siddur (prayer book).
When a quote strikes me as the right one for a particular week, I make that text my Facebook status, turn off my computer, and let Shabbat begin. Last week, Ahad Ha-am’s words spoke to me, as they so often do. Even as I scurried to close up shop on the work week, I noticed that the first quote in the anthology is dated July 19, 2010 – almost exactly six years ago to the day.
Having been a sleepaway camper myself for every summer of my childhood, I know camp will change you. I can't wait for you to come home and teach us what you have learned.
"Busy." It’s a word that rolls off my tongue with such ease that it scares me. Being busy – overscheduled and overcommitted while deeply resenting this state of being – takes a great toll on my physical, psychological, and spiritual wellness. And I'm not alone. Busy has become emblematic of success in our 21st-century society -- and yet, more than ever, people are exhausted, burned out, and desperately seeking refuge from their everyday existence.