Religion

In November, I attended a lovely interfaith Thanksgiving service at Congregation Emeth in Morgan Hill. It was a gathering of clergy and laity from the many faith communities in Gilroy and Morgan Hill. In addition to the hosting Jewish congregation, there were representatives from...

My dear wife recently gave birth to our daughter Mushka on July 23, bringing another blessing into our family and into the world. In honor of this joyous occasion, allow me to share some thoughts on the significance of having a child. Judaism places a...

What does freedom taste like? As Jews celebrate the weeklong holiday of Passover (Pesach) beginning this Saturday night (April 12), the interactive ritual of a Passover Seder provides a rich learning experience to literally taste freedom.  The book of Exodus details the story of Passover...

From the earliest colonial days of America, there emerged an ethic of honest labor and craftsmanship. From farmers to silversmiths and makers of furniture, household implements and tools, there was a value on both the humanity and honor of work.  Yet, by the end of...

“I needed a place to be with God again. I watched the services on YouTube for a few weeks and decided I was ready. I loved how the service was so clear to me and helped me understand how the community works together. It...

With Christmas decorations sometimes going up before Thanksgiving, and even Halloween, it may seem unnecessary to prolong Christmas. However, Catholics and many other Christian traditions can extend Christmas into the second week of January.   We do so because the overwhelming and joyful reality of the...

I imagine that whoever you are, whatever faith tradition you practice (or don’t), whatever your race or ethnicity, whatever your socioeconomic background, whatever gender(s) (or none)—you probably agree that there are plenty of things that divide us as a country. I would also like...

I had the opportunity to visit the beautiful city of Paris, France back in November 2008. My friend and I spent a day in the city on a tour bus, driving past many recognizable locations. One of those locations was Notre Dame. The bus...

I was supposed to be in Israel today. To be precise, this morning, I was going to wake up in a quaint hotel near the Old City of Safed, enjoy a delicious breakfast al fresco while taking in the mountaintop views, tour the Artists' Quarter,...

It happens every year. Right around the time kids have mastered the art of sleeping until noon, playing video games all night, and consuming every last snack within a five-mile radius, summer quietly packs up and leaves. Along with the beach trips, popsicles, relaxed...