Two cantors give their take on this month’s question: What are your “silver linings” coming out of this quarantine experience? Cantor Natasha J. Hirschhorn of Congregation Ansche Chesed in New York, New York “Our new reality presented us with some of the most difficult trials we may have ever experienced: the staggering loss of life, illness, isolation, economic hardships, and uncertain future. With so m...
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Louie Kemp Author Louie Kemp shares how Judaism helped shape his life and friendship with legendary singer-songwriter Bob Dylan in his book Dylan & Me: 50 Years of Adventures. It begins, “It was at summer camp in northern Wisconsin in 1953 that I first met Bobby Zimmerman from Hibbing. He was 12 years old and he had a guitar. He would go around telling everybody he was going to be a rock-and-roll star. I was 11 a...
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When 5-year-old Eli Gerston wanted to wear a dress to preschool, her mother Jodi worried whether Eli would be accepted by the teachers or bullied by other children. To calm those fears, staff at Yavneh Day School in Los Gatos, California, participated in a training led by Keshet—a Jewish organization dedicated to equipping institutions like this day school with skills and knowledge to build LGBTQ-affirming communities. ...
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The freshman year of college is life-changing for most young adults, who are suddenly out in the world on their own and making new discoveries about themselves every day, but for Justin Rosen Smolen it was particularly so. In 2004, the former USYer was attending a joint undergraduate program through Columbia University and Jewish Theological Seminary of America (JTS). He made the decision to come out that year. “W...
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In the weeks leading up to Charli Goldstein’s Bat Mitzvah this spring, the family was busy finalizing all the last-minute details, from the photographer to the dresses. The year leading up to this moment had been incredibly trying for the Goldsteins, with Charli’s younger brother suffering a pediatric stroke from a head injury. He had finally recovered, and the Bat Mitzvah not only represented Charli’s transition int...
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By Brad Kolodny, media sales and marketing professional, author and photographer I don’t often travel for business, but when I do, I try to visit a local synagogue while out on the road. This may be just admiring the architecture of the building from the outside, but if the timing works out where I am able to attend a service, it makes my travel experience more meaningful. Taking time to see a synagogue in an otherwis...
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