For parents of Jewish teens, instilling in their children a passion for Judaism, an expansive worldview, and the importance of Jewish friendships is often of the utmost importance. However, parents are often conflicted about the best methods -- the “how and when” of talking about or suggesting experiences that will resonate most with their teens can feel daunting. Of course there are the consistent activitie...
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Whatever your feelings are on New Year’s resolutions, it’s hard to deny that the beginning of a new year (and in this case, a new decade!) is by its nature a time for renewal, re-examination, and growth. This is especially the case for achieving goals for ourselves and our families in the realm of Jewish involvement. Some of us are building on the momentum of our engagement in the past year, and many of us are looking fo...
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Alex Golub and Mathew Sgan of Congregation Sof Ma'arav share their journey of being Jewish in Hawaii, and how it led them to collaborate as research partners in writing a new book. Alex Golub When most of us imagine centers of American Jewish life, we are more likely to think of Manhattan or Los Angeles than the middle of the Pacific Ocean. So for us, and the other members of our Conservative shul in Oahu, Hawaii,...
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Inspired by his work with Marak HaYom, a teen-run Jewish a Capella group, Hazzan Matthew Austerklein recently came out with the book, Ilu Finu: A Capella for Jewish Prayer. Fresh out of cantorial school and working at Congregation Beth El of Montgomery County in Bethesda, Maryland, one thing immediately hit a high note with Hazzan Matthew Austerklein (now a cantor at Beth El in Akron, Ohio)—the synagogue’s teen-run a ...
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2a0zof_BmI&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR1YTUxLnZKkHcGwSjev2SMtZdRr-14kDovq5JzzkhFjAnvUY-GZZ9qvb1w There are disabilities you can't help but see...and there are disabilities you absolutely don't see. The great miracle of God is that God creates every human being from the same mold, and yet each person somehow is unique. What is most crucial is that we recognize e...
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