Galilee Diary: Chanukah Gelt
Growing up in the Reform community in the US in the 50s and 60s, I remember the constant discussions of the Chanukah-Christmas dilemma. Was it possible to disengage Chanukah from the seasonal linkage to Christmas, and keep it somehow true to its roots? Or was it doomed to be "the Jewish answer to Christmas," which increasingly meant an orgy of shopping and materialism?
My Thanksgivukkah Anxieties
When I first heard the term “Thanksgivukkah”—the convergence of Chanukah and Thanksgiving—and that it was happening this year, I must admit that I became a little anxious because it brought back some of my interfaith marriage insecurities that I thought were long gone.
Galilee Diary: Seasons greetings
You shall make no covenant with them and their gods. They shall not remain in your land, lest they cause you to sin against Me; for you will serve their gods - and it will prove a snare to you.
-Exodus 23:32-33
8 Great Jewish Apps for Hanukkah
Need a last-minute Hanukkah present for the technology-lover in your life?
Eileh Ezkerah
Eileh Azkara (These I Remember) is the lament that recounts the martyrdom of ten rabbis during the Roman brutality of 2000 years ago.
Good Morning Baltimore...Hebrew Day School
Rethinking the Holy Days
I’ve come to the conclusion we need to change the date of Simchat Torah. Our Jewish festivals must be re-envisioned as inspirational community gatherings of joyful spiritual Jewish celebration. Every single festival needs to be a time of great community involvement and meaning.
Galilee Diary: Repairing the World
by Marc Rosenstein
(Originally published in Ten Minutes of Torah and Galilee Diary)
The Holiness of Separation
As a kid, Shabbat meant brisket. I loved that. Every once in a while, my mother would get inspired and feel the need to… cook? No, she always cooked in those days. It wasn't until many years later that dinner was more likely to be ordered than made.
Galilee Diary: Uncertainty Principle
The details of the lunar cycle have been understood for thousands of years.