(L-R) Ariella, Gideon and Eliana doing theHamotzi blessing on Challah before eating. As far back as Gideon Manzur can recall, he helped his father plan and build the sukkah in their backyard every year right after the high holidays in anticipation of Sukkot. First, the 10-by-10-foot structure would go up. Then, his father would take Gideon and his brother in the family truck to nearby train tracks lined with palm tree...
Read More
Rabbi Kevin Hale, a trained sofer STaM scribe and member of the Rabbinical Assembly whose work focuses on evaluating and restoring Sifrei Torah, shares a special journey with his scribal mentor: It is an exquisitely beautiful day in the middle of Elul in Western New England, and I am in my studio, hunkered down over an unusually tall 250-year-old Torah scroll with quill in hand and inkwell safely to one side, quietly ...
Read More
When Terry Oved looks back on what’s been the foundation of his career as chairman and founding partner at Oved and Oved, LLP, there’s one thing that immediately comes to mind for the New York-based lawyer—the Torah. With new, innovative programs such as Young Jewish Professionals (YJP) New York’s “Torah with the CEO’s”, established businesspeople like Terry have the unique opportunity to speak with the next generation...
Read More
Volunteering in the school system of the Indian village of Ashte was just one of the the trip highlights for students and staff. India is a country like no other. With its sights, smells, sounds and tastes, India boasts a colorful culture and a beautiful chaos. For a group of nine students and one staff member with the Nativ College Leadership Program in Israel, a three-week trip to India proved to be both inspiring a...
Read More
In the United States, more than half a million people face homelessness. Most Americans have at least encountered somebody who is battling homelessness—whether it was giving a friendly nod while passing them on the street or stopping to share spare change. Earlier this year, teens from New York’s Westchester Jewish Center saw homelessness through a different lens as they spent a week giving back to the growing homeless p...
Read More
When Genea Moore was a college student in the early 2000s, scouring her local paper for job opportunities, she had no idea her enthusiasm and open mindedness would land her, a Jewish woman of color who converted in 2015, a job at a synagogue that would prove life-changing in so many ways. Now executive director at Midway Jewish Center in Syosset, New York, Genea’s career in Judaism—which ultimately led to her conversion—...
Read More
On the day of most people’s Bar/Bat Mitzvah celebration, it’s normal—and even expected—for nerves to run wild as the ceremony draws closer. But when Diane Silverberg’s special day arrived, a strong sense of calmness and excitement enveloped the congregation at B’nai Tikvah in Deerfield, Illinois, as she walked to the bimah. Though nowadays it’s standard for girls to celebrate their coming of age with a Bat Mitzvah ceremo...
Read More
Rabbis around the country are preparing to deliver some of their most important sermons of 2019 this Rosh Hashanah. We asked three of these rabbis what most inspired them to write these messages. Rabbi Neil Sandler, Ahavath Achim Synagogue of Atlanta, Georgia “More than anything, as I prepare one of the High Holiday messages I will share with my congregation this year, I know that my inspiration is Harry. Yep, without ...
Read More
Nothing calls for a trip to the lake, beach or pool with a great book in hand more than the dog days of summer. Luckily, we have these books for adults and young adults—some by Jewish authors and others with Jewish storylines—for you to add to your summer reading list this month. In Another Time by Jillian Cantor In 1931 Germany, bookshop owner Max Beissinger meets Hanna Ginsberg, a budding concert violinist. I...
Read More
Rabbi Lauren Tuchman Rabbi Lauren Tuchman has always seen life through a different lens. For the now 33-year-old who has been blind since infancy, many things about her growing up were unique to her, and often not easy. But then again, being the “first” at anything never is. After embracing Judaism as a teen, getting access to a braille siddur, learning Hebrew and then finding her way to the Hillel at Dickinson Col...
Read More