This is a series of posts informed by my experiences officiating weddings. Most of my weddings incorporate Jewish traditions – some lightly, some a lot. But others have been fashioned entirely on other faith traditions, and especially from the secular world. Here I am sharing some of the most common questions couples have asked me [...]
Archive for the ‘Jewish’ Category
“We are an interfaith couple. Should a rabbi or minister marry us?”
Posted in Jewish, tagged Interfaith weddings, Jewish weddings, Minister or rabbi? on February 10, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
“How can I make my Jewish or interfaith wedding unique, funny or even funky?”
Posted in Jewish, tagged Creative weddings, Funky weddings, Funny weddings, Interfaith weddings, Jewish weddings on February 5, 2012 | 1 Comment »
This is part of a series of posts about my experiences officiating weddings. Most of my weddings are Jewish in one fashion or another. But many incorporate readings from other faith traditions, or even secular tradition. Many of the couples I work with are devotedly “agnostic” in their beliefs (whether “Jewish” or not). They bristle [...]
A story from Rebbe Nachman : A son and the wisdom of the world
Posted in Jewish, tagged Midrash, Rebbe nachman, Wisdom of the world on January 25, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
A Story from Rebbe Nachman There is a story of a king who sent his son a great distance to study all the wisdom of the world. The son went, studied, and returned wise. One day the king asked his son to take a massive rock and place it up upon the roof of the [...]
Some advice from the Talmud: Just don’t be a jerk!
Posted in Jewish, tagged funny quotes from Talmud, Talmud on October 24, 2011 | 1 Comment »
Recently, doing some research for a curriculum project on Jewish values, I stumbled upon these delightful excerpts from the Talmud (redacted circa 500 CE). They really made me laugh. Keep in mind, they were written in a culture (Babylonia) where there were no trade schools or formal educational institutions. All skills and knowledge were passed [...]
Home-based Hebrew school in Havertown for 3-year-olds
Posted in Jewish, tagged Hebrew school in Mainline PA, Jewish kids Mainline, Jewish toddlers in Mainline on October 24, 2011 | 1 Comment »
I am interested in forming a group of children for a home-based Hebrew school for kids aged 3- to 4-years-old. Class will be held once a week for two hours, probably on Sundays, around 10 am to noon (depending on the group’s preference). Who Am I? I have completed four years of rabbinical school and have taught [...]
Jewish ritual life today owes it all (or almost all!) to Debbie Friedman
Posted in Jewish, tagged Debbie friedman, Jewish music, Jewish prayer, Kol isha on May 24, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
In 1995, I was living in Nashville, Tennessee, and belonged to a small Conservative congregation. One day, I saw a flier on the wall advertising a concert for some woman named Debbie Friedman. I had no idea who she was, and I imagined that whatever this “Jewish music” of hers was, it was probably cheesy. [...]
Why join a synagogue or church? Just ask the ‘atheist’ Albert Einstein
Posted in Jewish, tagged Albert einstein, How to live life, Synagogue membership on April 26, 2011 | 1 Comment »
I’ve had the pleasure in recent weeks of doing a lot of reading about Albert Einstein. He has always been one of my foremost Jewish heroes, and learning more about his life and words has only emboldened this sentiment. One of the common refrains in his writings is the importance of striving for a life of humility, [...]
Confessions of a Non-Morning Person: Birchot HaShachar for the Slow-to-Rise
Posted in Jewish, tagged Alternative birchot hashachar, Birchot hashachar, Jewish morning blessings, Not a morning person on April 18, 2011 | 1 Comment »
When I was 23, I had a newsroom job that started at 6:30 a.m. Not being a morning person, this was my idea of getting ready in the morning: Set the alarm for 15 minutes before I have to leave the house. After the alarm goes off, jump out of bed, spend 7 minutes in [...]
Resurrection and immortality: A Christian or Jewish concept?
Posted in Jewish, tagged Christian resurrection, Jewish immortality, Jewish resurrection, resurrection origins on February 17, 2011 | 5 Comments »
Who came up with the idea of bodily resurrection after death? Like many people – Christian and Jewish alike – for most of my life I made the assumption that this was a distinctly Christian idea. It makes sense that people would have this assumption. Christianity is so singularly focused on the resurrection of Jesus [...]
Marge Piercy: ‘Writing sometimes feels frivolous and sometimes sacred, but memory is one of my strongest muses’
Posted in Jewish, tagged Jewish literature, Jewish poetry, Jewish writers, Marge piercy, Sleeping with cats on January 31, 2011 | 1 Comment »
One of my favorite writers, as well as my favorite Jewish-American writers, is Marge Piercy, who has lived an enviable life, on her own terms, as a poet, author and liberal activist. She lives in Cape Cod with her husband and a whole lot of cats. This excerpt is from her memoir, and feels particularly [...]
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About the Author
I am a writer, editor, rabbinical student, mother and scuba diver (not necessarily in that order). My latest project is a narrative nonfiction book called Chasing Cupid: Tales of Dating Disaster in Jewish Suburbia, about my 15+ years of dating.
