Jewish Life

Much of what has been said about the second COVID-related lockdown in Israel is enduring. With all its attached hardships, I believe it’s the essential step Israel should take, even…

I’m overwhelmed. I’m overwhelmed by the sudden shift from a crippling quarantine to an intense new reality in Tel Aviv. So many people want to reunite with me, check in…

Truth be told, I didn’t believe this day would come. This day of closure, in which I’ll come back to Israel from two exciting, life-changing years at the 14th Street…

Every year in May or June, the 14th Street Y celebrates a Tikkun: a mesmerizing deep dive into Jewish and Israeli culture, our way of celebrating the Jewish holiday of…

Mimouna is the traditional North African Jewish celebration of eating chametz to mark the end of Passover. Ophir Tal, Israeli Emissary on behalf of The UJA Federation to The 14th…

During these challenging times, I have tried to find “happy moments” where I can find them. This has often taken the form of reading a book with my son or…

A teacher once told me that the entire Torah, or Old Testament, can be read as a story cycle of Otherness, Exile, and Redemption.  Of course, the ultimate example of…

“I remember the first thing I noticed when we came into the harbor-I woke up, and suddenly smelled something. And of course, it was pollution”-Greta Thunberg, Environmental activist and winner…

Waiting for Godot is always timely, the existential queries that all the characters ask in this play echo our lives in the most microcosmic aspects and also on a global…

Kabbalah teaches that the prayers of the downtrodden open a window in the heavens to allow our prayers to ascend because of the depth of prayer of the broken-hearted. On…