I find there are many joys and equally as many “oys” in Jewish parenting. At this time, the rapidly approaching end of the Sunday school year has me reflecting on what my children have learned, how we as parents go about Jewishly educating our children, and what we do outside of Jewish learning environments that reinforce or augment what children hear, do and process in those places of learning.
May is Mental Health Awareness Month — a time to prioritize caring for our emotional and psychological wellbeing.
I’m not saying Lenny Zeskind prevented the Oklahoma City terror bombing of 1995 from taking place in Kansas City, Missouri. But he might have.
Continual antisemitism and its significant recent rise poses the question: How do we personally respond to antisemitism in our daily lives? Do we each have enough knowledge and diplomacy to convince reasonable persons that they are misinformed about Jews? If not, what do we need to know? Are we going to be bystanders or upstanders?
As we approach Passover, we are reminded of the incredible journey of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt to freedom. Passover is a time to reflect on the miracles that shaped our history and to renew our sense of hope and faith in the possibility of redemption.
It was a dark and quiet evening; we walked into a forest where we were confronted with a large grave. The grave contained 801 children who were brutally murdered for one reason and one reason only – they were Jewish.
Last year on Passover, the anti-Israel group Jewish Voice for Peace staged what they called an anti-Zionist Seder at the University of Southern California.
I was bewildered at how such a Seder can even be constructed. The following serves as my open letter to JVP, going through each of the Seder’s 14 steps and demonstrating how each and every step contains a connection to the Holy Land:
On May 5, 2000, I delivered a very strong message to the community about Passover. In reading it over again, I think it is even more true today. It was based on remarks of the late blessed Lubavitcher Rebbe. He wanted to know where the fifth son was from the Passover Haggadah, why he was missing.
During our Passover Seders, we recount our ancestors’ Exodus from Egypt, celebrating our liberation from the shackles of Egyptian slavery into the promise of freedom. Yet, as we celebrate our freedom, we must also confront a painful truth: For too many in our community, the journey to freedom remains incomplete. Domestic violence — a modern form of bondage — persists, even within Jewish homes, undermining the peace and dignity we cherish.
So, it’s Passover again. Another Seder night where we reunite with distant relatives we nearly forgot about to retell a story we are never allowed to forget. One might wonder: Is it really necessary, more than 3,000 years later, to still commemorate our ancestors’ freedom from slavery in Egypt? Can’t we move on to more pressing and contemporary issues?
